Beige Summer 2013 by Barry Johnston

CREDITS t h e p rovoc a tive cu l tur a l q u a rter ly

editor - in - c h i E f

Pub l is h ing editor Andrew Wilkinson andy@beigeuk.com

Barry Johnston barry@beigeuk.com

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

F a s h ion editor

Alex Hopkins alex@beigeuk.com

Kristine Kilty kristine@beigeuk.com

F E AT U R E S E D I T O R

commerci a l p a rtners h i p s

Martin Green green@beigeuk.com

Jean Paul Zapata jeanpaul@beigeuk.com

G R APH I C D E S I G N E R

WEB DESIGN Lucasz Izdebski contact@nineteen-82.co.uk

Ian Thorpe ian@leanagency.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS A+C: Studio A Man To Pet Christine Bateman Alexander Beer Dean Bright Stephen Brogan Justin David Glyn Fussell Naomi Gray Fannar Gudmundsson

Tina Hall Holestar Tye Jakobs Jonathan Kemp Claire Lawrie Adrian Lourie Gozra Lozano Ian MacMillan Elliott Morgan Rude Boy

Tris Penna Tim Perkins Jon Pleased Amy Redmond John Sizzle Specular Arndt Stobba Dean Stockings Andrea Webster Jean Paul Zapata

COVER Photography: Alexander Beer Model: Anthony BB Kaye at Storm Models Vest: Aqua by Aqua Men Necklace worn as headpiece: Little Shilpa Published by What 4 Media Limited 7 Panther House, 38 Mount Pleasant London WC1X 0AN Telephone 0207 278 6898 All rights reserved throughout the world. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written consent of Beige UK. The views and opinions expressed by contributors to this magazine may not necessarily represent the views of Beige UK. Beige UK takes no responsibility for claims made in advertisements featured in this magazine. Beige UK can take no responsibility for unsolicited material. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness, and the opinions based thereon are not guaranteed. Disclaimer: Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organisation, articles or advertising in Beige UK should not be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organisation or advertiser. ÂŠ What 4 Media Ltd

03 B E I G E

CONTENTS

FRANKMUSIK

SINK THE PINK

P E T E R T A T C H E LL

AL E X G E R R Y

T H E B L I T Z G E N E R AT I O N 2 6 J U L I A N C LA R Y

COLOUR IN MOTION

W HA T E V E R HAPP E N e D T O B A B Y grizz l e ?

S AT U R AT E D

A LA D I S P O S I T I O N

SUMMER GROOMING

EASTERN ADVENTURES

s a r a sot a : a n U N C O N D I T I O N AL S U R R E N D E R

S A M L E E APPL I E S H I S M U S I C AL M A K E U P

a rtist s p ot l ig h t: s T E V E S T R A N G E

MUSIC REVIEWS

DVD 75 JOHN GRANT 76 78

LE GRIND q ueens in h istor y : divine

M I C HA E L C O S T I F F : PA G E S F R O M A D I A R Y

KEEP YOUR TIMBER LIMBER

I A N AY R E S

F R E D M A N n

B E I G E O N S TA G E

DESIRED

4 8 H R S I N S A N F R A N cis C O

beige r a ge

Cap: Fam Irvoll X MODU T-Shirt: Vans at surfdome.com

Denim Shirt: Drop Dead Vest: Vans at surfdome.com Necklace: Drop Dead

Vincent James Turner, aka FRANKMUSIK is a thoroughly modern man: attractive, youthful, musically inspired and forward thinking. His sound is energetic and electronic, but with heart, fizzing, swishing and soulful synthpop.

F R A N K MU SI K WRITER: DEAN BRIGHT P H O T O G R A P H Y : E LL I O T t M O R G A N S ty l ing : Arndt S tobb a G roo m ing : S te p h a nie S tokkvik W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

He recently gave away an EP, Far From Over, as a free download via his website www.frankmusik.com, but with the option of making a donation to Oxfam, leading the trend of free music samplers to entice fans to live gigs, website exclusives and album downloads. Vincent has had hits such as his album Complete Me in 2009 which charted at number 13 in the UK, he’s remixed and produced many artists including GAGA, Pet Shop Boys, Tinchy Strider

and Erasure, whose album Tomorrow’s World, he produced in 2011. Leaving behind a signing to a major record label in 2012, after highs and lows, he moved back from Los Angeles to his roots in London and decided to become an independent music making machine, releasing and controlling all his musical output via his website and downloads. During this photo shoot in Covent Garden, I asked him why he had done this and how it was all going? Vincent: If you can be independent then you should. I realised at the beginning of this year that I trod the label path for a fair amount of time, and I think my apprenticeship is over, so I must make my way on my own to really discover my true potential. I no longer see the label system as a competitor. I’m trying to achieve a type of fulfillment that would be impossible to reach due to the design of the label industry, not the music industry, as I now think they are two quite separate

things. Limiting one’s resources can sometimes really help with critical problem solving and creative output. Dean Bright: You released your EP as a free download with the option to donate to Oxfam, how has that worked out? V: In January I made a rule for myself: don’t try and sell music. It seems so counterintuitive, but since selling music stopped being the goal I’ve become free. It’s forced me to grab fans attention by moving them emotionally and try and make the listener question convention. I realised that I am not for sale, but I am for sharing. DB: If you could have a wish list, which artists would you love to collaborate with or write for? V: That’s easy. Vangelis, Aphex Twin and Electric Light Orchestra. Visually I would like to work with Antony Gormley as his sculpture is epic and I feel my new music style would work well with his vision. 07 B E I G E

Suit: Dent de Man

T-Shirt: Drop Dead Bracelets: Shimla

“I realised that I am not for sale, but I am for sharing.”

DB: I see you were a student at the London College of Fashion. What were your ambitions then? V: I wanted to dress people in what I wore basically. Even then I think I was trying to make people question what was possible, but it was so restrictive it drove me mad. I also realised that I preferred buying clothes rather than making them. DB: Do you have any interest in contemporary or indeed traditional or classical art? V: I loved art at high school. I ended up at Saint Martins for a year then moved over to the London College of Fashion as a result of my passion for art. Classical art has its place in history but I feel it’s far too often connected to some sort of organised religion, which to me is slightly dull and unimpressive. Most religions in history were the banks of nations and to some degree that still very much applies. Money attracted a plethora of talent in the classical period,

W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

but to me, going back to the starving artist attitude, I prefer art that has come from struggle and taken a path that defies the convention of the time. To me that’s what art should always be about. DB: Is style important to you? V: I used to pay big attention to my appearance before I was signed, but towards the end of my relationship with the label system I gave up caring as I didn’t know who I was and who I wanted to be. Today I like to wear what allows me to perform easily on stage so t-shirt, jeans and sneakers are perfect. I will develop more of a style again once my confidence is fully restored in my music. Once I own the music I will own myself once more. DB: You are about to embark on a month long grueling 20 date tour of the USA. How are you going to manage to cover all that distance in such a short time? V: Thankfully I’m prepared as I did

a full US tour with Erasure in 2011 which has put me on a good footing. It will be 14500 miles of driving which I cannot wait to do! I won’t be doing all the driving, I will have my photographer and creative director Danny Land in tow, as well as my drummer Al, and my good friend Andy who will be causing us plenty of trouble. My drummer Al is a total sweetheart and will be keeping us all in line, Danny will be having a ball filming the whole thing. We will just need to not be drinking too much and stay well rested for this to go smoothly. DB: Do you go out clubbing, partying often? V: I am not really a party animal but I think that changed recently after my last club PA in Vauxhall. I was playing Punk’d at Hidden and I had a blast. It ended up that I was out until 12 pm the next day. That is a very un-me thing to do. I normally like to be with a few friends and just chill somewhere, 09 B E I G E

Jacket: Fam Irvoll

T-Shirt: Fam Irvoll

T-Shirt: Hardware LDN Jeans: Drop Dead

but since I have been enjoying my job a lot more recently I feel like letting my hair down more often too. DB: What can we expect from a live Frankmusik set in 2013? V: New songs galore and a simplified show set up. It will be my drummer and myself. But I will have a play area of musical toys which I will run over to now and then where I will be making all kinds of ʻwhat the hellʼ sounds. It’s going to be fun and interesting to watch, I hope. DB: What advice would you give to young aspiring musicians hoping for a career as a recording artist? V: I would ask them to read your question and break it down like this. “What advice” to me means, be prepared for something you may not want to hear. I would only “give” the truth from personal experience but everyone is different. Being “young” is good but you will still need a good team around you to educate and protect you W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

from the circling vultures higher up the ladder. I would ask anyone who is interested in a music career if they can define what it means to them to be an “aspiring musician”. What would their aspirations be? What kind of musician do they want to be and how does that fit the context of their reality? “Hoping” is good but action is key. Make mistakes but learn from them. I think the “career” bit becomes easier once a person has established what they think it means to be an “aspiring musician”. Finally, if the person felt being a “recording artist” was the goal then they would have had to answer all the other points above pretty well before I could recommend it as a viable long term option for them.To me music and art as a whole is about taste and problem solving. DB: What kind of equipment do you use to create your music? Is it all synthesizers and software or is there live percussion, i.e real man made sounds?

V: This album was made in a very humble setting with an exceptionally modest set up. I had one pair of speakers that I borrowed from my drummer and a partially broken iMac that I had to fly back from LA in a Samsonite luggage case, and it got a rather big ding on it which nearly left it very useless. Apart from that I make all the sounds with software. DB: How long has it taken for you to create the new album Between? V: The album was written, produced, mixed and mastered in just under five months. DB: Finally, where do you see yourself in five years time? V: Older, fatter and wiser. The new album Between is out now to download from www.frankmusik.com Also available on iTunes 11 B E I G E

SINK THE PINK a m y a n d g ly n i n v i t e u s t o t h e i r s t u n n i n g PHOTOGRAPHY: JUSTIN DAVID

‘jewel

“ Camp, tacky, ridiculous glamour in a tw o bed council flat”

box’ high rise

GROOMING: DECLAN SHEILS

a m y o n g ly n He’s a cheeky little scamp my wife. Sometimes he’ll go missing for days, and I’ll be at home in an apron, having baked 13 cakes while worrying about him. Then in he rolls, like the Pied Piper of the gays, 4000 club kids following him. Then he needs his wife. The day after a long weekend it’s all home cooking, ice cream and films under the duvet. We like Sister Act 2 and always cry at the same bits. I remember the first time we met, on a video shoot for my cousin’s camp as fuck GNVQ video production final year film. Naturally we were the stars of the show and it’s been a shared stage from then on. He opens up the catwalk for me and lets me have my moment, but the mic’s his at Sink The Pink. There’s no one that can take that fucker out of his wrinkly hands. He honestly has the hands of a 400 year old worker woman, and don’t start me on his feet. They consume moisturiser like he does Lambrini.

Amy Dress, Jacket and Leggings Ivana Pilja Bra The Gypset diary Shoes Terry De Havilland Hat Jordan Bowen Earrings Charlie Tuesday Gates at Cult Mountain Glyn Catsuit Bernard Chandran Hat Jordan Bowen Necklace Finchittida Bracelets Mathew Campbell Laurenza

W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

“ E as t L ondo n’s fines t ho t m e s s e s in full p a r t y mo de . . . ”

If there’s something I’d say he has a scarily skilled knack at, it’s bending the truth. He retells tales of our shared experiences that sound like a completely different story. I often have to question my own memory, but then I remember with a lol, he lives in The Glyn Show. It’s screening 24 hours a day in his own head, allowing his realities to be warped into a wonderful rainbow tinted haze of decadence, theatrics and laughter, where he of course is the star of the show. It’s a roller coaster ride of life and a hoot to be in the passenger seat, but he knows when I need to get off the ride and have some calm time. In fact, we know before it ever needs to be said. This applies to everything we do. We can float through the club, without speaking, we move like clockwork, we’re a well oiled machine at the club night thing now. It’s the living together that’s new to us, but it’s like we always have. There’s a lot of laughter in our home, it sings and smiles in all the ridiculous things we own and do.

Amy Dress Sorapol

Bracelets Mathew Campbell Laurenza Glyn Top Jylles Navarro Pants Sorapol Shoulder pads Cult Mountain

This year is our fifth bringing Sink The Pink to Bestival. We went as punters six years ago and never wanted it to end. I think Sink The Pink is born of the spirit of day three of a festival; where you’re in the most ridiculous of outfits, sharing a warm

The first time I met Amy was when we were 16. We’d both been recruited to star in her cousin’s music video. She was the choreographer and I was a dancer. I remember being a little intimidated by her initially, she was the gay man I had always wanted to be - silly, flamboyant, expressive and camp! When I say camp I mean it a new word needs to be invented for Amy’s level of camp. She’s camper than the entire UK population of drag queens, actually throw in The Netherlands too and you’re still not close! And so it began! We became inseparable, almost merging into the same glorious mess of glitter and garish clothes day by day. Every weekend we would spend the days in our own little world, skating through parks, breaking into famous people’s gardens, laughing over tea and biscuits or getting dressed up in our finest disco garb and hitting the town! Even back then we knew we wanted more from the London club scene; it was fine and all, but it wasn’t the Xanadu style movie we had always

Headscarf Roberto Piquieras

The very essence of Sink The Pink is based upon our friendship and desire to show off like little children doing a show for Mum and Dad at Christmas. I don’t think there will ever be a day we won’t want to dress up and do a show for each other. When I DJ I play the music I know he’ll love and he talks shit down the mic to make me laugh. I wear something I know he will find ridiculous and he tries to outdo me. We are each others best audience. I love the Glyn show, its been my favourite programme since the day of that shoot. If these walls could talk. They’ve seen East London’s finest hot messes in full party mode, killer photoshoots, gossipy sunday dinners - sometimes there are not enough chairs. Once we had our friend Jacqui Potato in full drag laying across everyone sat on the sofa. I always felt like the Mum of Sink The Pink, and living with Glyn and having all our tranny children makes it realer than ever. I literally couldn’t be happier. Everyday I wake up smiling. We’re like Bert and Ernie, we step out of our rooms wearing the same thing and laugh.

g ly n o n a m y

cider and a mind bending conversation with someone called Brother Culture, whilst someone attempts to snort glitter and trannies catwalk between empty tents with the wind in their weave. We have had a festival almost every weekend this summer, and still have Summer Rites, Latitude, Lovebox and Bestival to come! We’re also taking Sink The Pink to Bristol, Manchester and Liverpool for monthly parties. It’s kind of like starting over when you get to a new town, but the energy is infectious and we have been received so well outside of London, which is pretty bloody exciting! The next step is our Australia/Asia tour in January. We won’t stop until the whole world have visited our Glitter My Shitter make-under stand and seen Glyn perform in a jock strap! When I look to the future I see no changes; us two in colourful, ridiculous head pieces and wacky pop specs. He’ll still be putting on a show and entertaining the kids. We’ll have more fresh air then, and he’ll finally get his dog Noodle (that he already pretends to have anyway). There’ll be red wine and laughter, maybe less late nights, but our hearts will always be Sink The Pink. As long as I’ve got my wife, I’ll have Sink The Pink.

Gly Jumper Jylles Navarro Chains Phillip Normal Burger Necklace Celia Arias at Cult Mountain Sunglasses Fumbalina

13 B E I G E

“H is fe e t ? T hey cons ume mo is t uris er lik e he do e s L am brini. ”

talked about. We would spend hours sat in bed talking about starting a club. We always dreamt about a club that would feel celebratory rather than dark, somewhere that was ridiculous, expressive and glorious in equal measures. Naturally we wanted a stage so we could show off, hey that’s how we met after all. Musically we wanted something with no pretence, a sort of house party hodge podge of pop splendour. The grandeur of a night in Vegas with the grime of an east end festival….so our friendship went to another level and Sink the Pink was born! From the very beginning Amy has always been the sensible one in our relationship. When I am out partying having lost my pants, dignity and virginity she would be there making sure everything had been done at the end of the night, sat in a flowing kaftan, drinking a lady grey, in a glorious head dress naturally, like a modern day Mrs Madrigal but without

Catsuit Pam Hogg Headpiece Fumbalina at Cult Mountain

That secret! She is the most calming, sturdy, strong, wonderful creation of colour and I would be knee deep in a quagmire of dirty wigs, snapped heels and fallen sequins if it wasn’t for her. In our time together we have run through fields, naked! Presented a weekly radio show, naked! Performed on huge stages around the country, sometimes naked and danced in our flat whilst singing into spoons, usually to Natasha Beddingfield (shame) always naked! Amy Turban Shopfloor whore Necklaces De Auris Jacket Jylles Navarro Catsuit Spangled Rings Fumbalina Glyn Ruffs Viktorija Rudenia at Cult Mountain Bodysuit The Gypset Diary Leggings Spangled Boots: Jylles Navarro W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

Obviously it’s now bigger than just our friendship. Through Sink the Pink we have ended up with a family of DJs, performers, trannies and club whores. Myself and Amy have become Mum and Dad to a sea of the most gorgeous freaks around. I am the eccentric Dad that smokes weed with them to appear cool, occasionally pulling out the bongos and having a moment. Amy on the other hand is the Mother! She cooks for them, pays them pocket money, gives advice when needed. She has been there when they have been beaten up, when they have been crying and when they have been performing for the first time, screaming proudly in the front row, complete with banner! Damn it, I’m going to say those words... she’s A rock (vomits in hand.)

Amy Hat Laura Apsit Livens Glyn Hat Sorapol

15 B E I G E

Amy and Glyn Catsuits Isobel Webster Sunglases Spangled

So here we are now, after knowing each other 15 years as best mates, working every day together, we decide that it’s just not enough, so we’ve moved in together. We have created what can only be described as a museum of us; high energy, plastic fantastic, neon, camp, tacky ridiculous glamour in a two bed council flat in Bow! I think a lot of people thought this could be madness but it makes sense to me and Amy. She’s my left bangle drenched arm and I am her lycra clad leg! We still sit laughing at the same crazy shit, like YouTube videos of animals doing odd things, making up stupid sayings, “you know that old one, 14 llamas up a ladder don’t make a barrel of laughs”, or just sat for hours sewing pom poms onto granny pants. If anything she has made me a more fully realised version of the ridiculous human being I am, always encouraging, always insane, always hilarious! I’d like to think I have encouraged her to release all those drag queens trapped within her; I mean all you need to do is look at her and you’ll know that is certainly the case! Amy Zing – East London’s high priestess princess at the church of Sink the Pink. She’s taking new recruits now, please form a disorderly queue!

“The price of queer freedom is eternal vigilance”

Peter Tatchell is still on the phone when I knock on the door of his south London flat. He’s been back home for just a few hours after leading Birmingham Pride’s parade at the weekend, but he’s already giving an interview to the BBC. As he hangs up he tells me that 6000 emails have landed in his inbox in the few days he’s been away.

His greatest issue, however, is that should the bill become law heterosexual couples will still be deprived of the right of civil partnerships.

I’ve interviewed Tatchell before, so I’m familiar with the tiny two roomed flat which he’s lived in for over 30 years. Yet seeing it again I’m still shocked. The living room is probably about 14’ by 12’, but there’s only a space of around 6’ by 3’, in the centre, that’s free of piles of paper and placards from his many, high-profile campaigns. He gestures towards a cluttered sofa which he says he hasn’t sat on for 15 years and, apologising for the lack of space and the “musty” smell, fetches me a chair from his bedroom.

I’m interested to know whether Tatchell has ever worked more closely with Stonewall or does he see their functions and methods as being too different?

Tatchell’s environment may remain the same, but much has changed in gay rights since we last met in 2010, when he spoke about the idealistic early days of London’s Gay Liberation Front. The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill is now before the UK Parliament and, as this magazine goes to press, it will receive its Second Reading in The House of Lords. This must be a day that Tatchell hardly dared dream about as a 19 year old, joining the GLF straight from his native Australia. “The ban on same sex marriage is the last major piece of discrimination against LGBT people in the UK. Although it is a welcome advance, the bill is not true equality,” says Tatchell in a tired, but strong voice.

PETER TATCHELL W R I T E R : AL E X H O P K I N S P hotography : C LA I R E LA W R I E

W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

Over the last few weeks Tatchell has given many interviews detailing what he sees as the inadequacies of the proposed legislation. He politely, but firmly insists upon reiterating them now: the bill is separate from the 1949 marriage act, non-consummation is not grounds for an annulment, adultery, with a person of the same sex is not grounds for divorce and there remain significant inequalities in pension inheritance.

“The claim for same sex marriage has been based upon the principle for equality; therefore it is not consistent when Stonewall, for example, refuses to support equal civil partnerships for heterosexual couples. We can’t, with any credibility, demand equality for ourselves and not support it for others. I am surprised and disappointed that Stonewall, having for two decades sought the support of straight people for LGBT rights, now turns around and says that’s their battle.”

“When Stonewall was first set up in 1989 I worked very closely with the first director, Tim Barnett. We had different styles and approaches, but recognised that both were necessary. Since then a succession of Stonewall directors have been less keen about cooperation. The organisation has tended to go off and do its own thing, mostly separate from any other LGB organisations. “I’ve always seen Stonewall as similar to the Suffragists who did parliamentary lobbying for women’s rights, whereas myself and OutRage! are more like the Suffragettes, who did the direct action protests to get women’s votes into the public domain and to pressure the authorities. In every movement for social justice there is a need for both. You need insiders, working within the system to lobby, and you also need outsiders who challenge the establishment and shake things up.” So there hasn’t been too much conflict or bad feeling between him and Stonewall over the years? Tatchell pauses and answers carefully. “Well, I’ve always seen Stonewall as performing a very valuable function in addition to direct action protests,” he smiles wryly. “I’m not sure Stonewall has always reciprocated the appreciation.” Tatchell’s LGBT direct action group OutRage! has never courted the establishment. His campaigns, including the outing of 10 Anglican bishops in 1994 and the subsequent threat in 1995 to out 20 MPs, have not always won him allies in the gay

community. He’s an unapologetic outsider, uncompromising and too extreme for some, an embarrassment for others. And yet, over the years, even his critics have come to respect his fearless, inflammatory pronouncements. Tatchell dares to go where others don’t. On the contentious issue of religion he has been steadfast. Religious bigotry, I suggest, is now the main threat to LGBT equality. I refer to Tory MP Sir Gerald Howarth, who defended his now notorious Commons speech on “the aggressive homosexual community” by stating: “The Church of England was and is opposed to the bill, as is the Roman Catholic Church and the Muslim clergy, but their views counted for nothing.” “People like Gerald Howarth are dinosaurs from the past who are trying to sustain discrimination,” scoffs Tatchell. “They represent a small and declining minority of homophobes.” Yet the religious leaders Howarth alludes to still yield great influence. On 19 May it was reported that 500 Imams signed a letter to the government saying they had “serious misgivings” about the marriage bill. At a time when many people are reluctant to debate the issue of Muslim homophobia, for fear of being called racist, Tatchell has consistently raised the subject. He is now in the process of formulating a campaign to unite gays and Muslims. “Way back around 2007 I managed to persuade the Muslim Council of Britain to stop supporting anti-gay laws,” he says wearily. “Up until that time they had worked hand in glove with Christian and Judaist fundamentalists to oppose all the gay law reforms since 1999. “I put it to the MCB that while they are entitled to believe that homosexuality is wrong, they’re not entitled to seek to impose their particular religious interpretation on everyone else, using the law of the land. That’s theocracy, we live in a democracy. The MCB accepted that argument in 2007, so when the legislation outlawing homophobic discrimination in the provision of goods and services was put before parliament they declared that they would not oppose the legislation. They said they didn’t want to be associated with homophobia and they would not be joining any protests against the bill outside of parliament. I thought we had actually won that argument, but as you know now the MCB has joined with other Islamic 19 B E I G E

organisations in opposing the samesex marriage bill. So they’ve gone backwards. They’ve reverted to their previous support for discriminatory laws and they can claim they’re not homophobic, but anyone who supports laws that discriminate against LGBT people is homophobic in the same way that anyone who opposes equality of black people is racist.” Tatchell’s campaign will attempt to emphasise the common ground between Muslims and gay people, urging both groups to unite to overcome intolerance and marginalisation. One tactic will be T-shirts that state “The Qur’an is not homophobic. Are you?” It’s a typically audacious Tatchell approach. Is he not frightened at the responses he will get, particularly in light of the killing of soldier Lee Rigby by Islamist extremists in Woolwich last month? “Yes, I am, because this will take on Islamic orthodoxy in a very big way. I will expect to get death threats and possibly even physical assaults and attacks on my home.” I think about the iron bars over the windows of Tatchell’s flat and the housing block’s dark narrow stairway. He sustained permanent brain damage from an attack by Robert Mugabe’s body guards in Brussels in 2001, when he attempted a second citizen’s arrest of the Zimbabwe leader. In 2007 he was viciously assaulted by neo-Nazis at Moscow Pride. Why is he taking this huge risk? “I’m only pursuing these campaigns out of the frustration and disappointment that no one else is doing it. I’ve had them in the back of my mind for two decades, hoping that someone else will step up to the mark. Apart from a handful of individuals who are not really big in the public domain, no one else has taken on these issues. I want to do this in partnership with LGBT Muslims and straight Muslims who support the principle of universal human rights, but it’s really really difficult because they are afraid, very afraid of the consequences for themselves, their partners, their families.” He raises a depressing, but important point – I can think of no other person in the UK doing what he is doing. Does he think LGBT people have become politically apathetic?

W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

“Overall, I think there’s a creeping apathy and complacency within the LGBT community. A lot of people seem to think we’re on the verge of marriage equality, that’s it, the battle’s been won. To some extent they’re right, but let’s not forget that all the equality laws have written into them qualified exemptions to allow religious organisations to continue to discriminate against us.” He moves rapidly on, citing homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools, refugees fleeing persecution in Africa, their mistreatment under the UK asylum system and the fact that there are still nearly 80 countries that criminalise same-sex relationships. It’s a speech that he’s made countless times and yet his voice still quivers with emotion. “It’s not possible, for me, to sit back and relax knowing that somewhere in the region of 300 to 600 million LGBT people on this planet are living in circumstances of marginalisation, discrimination and outright persecution. This is a huge chunk of humanity that is being denied the basic dignity and respect that every human being deserves.” For Tatchell the struggle for LGBT rights has always been global. He did his first international campaign in 1971 against the government of Cuba, who were then rounding up gay and bisexual men and putting them into reeducation labour camps. I suggest this is something that a large section of the British public is probably unaware of. Does he think his vital international work may have been overshadowed by his more controversial campaigns in the UK, such as the outing of the bishops? “I don’t have any regrets about the outing campaign,” he states unequivocally. “It was never about outing people because they were gay. It was naming and shaming them because they were gay in private and anti-gay in public. The consequence of naming the 10 Anglican bishops in 1994 was that, as far as I know, none of them ever again endorsed the Church’s anti-gay stance. It also prompted the House of Bishops to make its strongest ever declaration against homophobic discrimination. It furthermore prompted the church to set up the first ever dialogue with the LGBT community. None of those positive things would have happened if we hadn’t have done the ‘unspeakable’ of outing those homophobes and hypocrites.”

I look around the room. Above the fireplace is a painting depicting Tatchell streaking through the sky like superman, a hero for our times, bravely saving the world. On the mantelpiece below is a posed police mug shot of him in which he holds up a sign saying “Queer Terrorist.” Public perception of him has certainly changed since the 1990s, in part due to his actions over Mugabe. Has he mellowed? “Not one iota. It’s just that some of my critics have come around to my point of view - finally. I think it’s partly because I’ve just been going at it for such a long time, and eventually people develop some grudging respect for someone who sticks to their principles, despite being denounced and demonised and suffering a lot of physical violence and hate.” The attacks have taken their toll. Throughout our conversation Tatchell has paused and carefully rephrased certain statements. In 2009 he was forced to step down as the Green Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate in the constituency of Oxford East. There must have been moments when he thought he simply couldn’t take any more. “I can be very stubborn and pig headed,” he laughs. “Lots of my friends have said I should move out of this flat, and probably I should and I will. You wouldn’t believe it, I’m a minimalist at heart, I love sparse decor, so living here is a form of daily mental torture. But I put up with what is because I’m motivated by idealism and the belief that I can, in some small way, make things a bit better. That’s what drives me on - passion, the love and hope of a better world. But it has been tough, it’s been very tough.” Where does this sense of humanity come from. Were his parents political? “No, not at all. My whole family are totally apolitical. No social conscience at all. Everything revolves around the family. They are sort of all…and I’m not being horrible here, but working class no hopers, in dead-end jobs with low aspirations.

influenced by my mother who suffered from chronic life threatening asthma. A lot of our family’s income went on medical bills, so even by working class standards we were exceptionally poor and that always grated me as a terrible injustice. I was also quite inspired and influenced by the black civil rights movement in America. Then my step father was very brutal and beat me, so that was probably another factor.” He stops there, not looking particularly comfortable with the subject. “Before we finish I’d just like to say a few more words about apathy, if that’s ok?” he asks. The assured voice that has been such a defiant, rallying call for so long returns. “It would be a huge mistake for LGBT people in Britain to assume that the battle is over and LGBT freedom is now secure in perpetuity. Right now I can’t see any circumstance where the gains we’ve won might be rolled back. But who can say what might happen in 20, 50 or 100 years from now? If climate chaos or a full blown economic recession takes hold there’s a very strong possibility that there will be a revival of right wing nationalistic movements promising to bring order and to restore Britain’s greatness. Those movements usually scapegoat minorities. Now, it’s not automatic that they would scapegoat LGBT people, but it has happened in the past. I always site the example of Weimar Germany. It shows that the price of queer freedom is eternal vigilance.” This warning from history echoes in my head as I return to my relatively comfortable life. While I’m doing this the indefatigable Peter Tatchell will have already started trawling through those 6000 emails. www.petertatchell.net www.petertatchellfoundation.org

“It’s really hard to put a finger on it. I grew up in a fiercely evangelical Christian family and one of the things about evangelicals is you have a personal, direct relationship with God and a personal responsibility for your life and what you do. So although I ditched the religion a long time ago I think those values probably stayed with me. Then I was also quite 21 B E I G E

ALEX GERRY W R I T E R : a l ex h o p kins

I’m sitting in the plush surroundings of Archer Street Bar in Soho, picking at a cheese board and sampling fine wines. To my right a lively wine tasting session is winding up, while behind me a polka dot dressed waitress has jumped on top of the bar and begun serenading the afternoon crowd with some obscure country and western classic.

If I’m slightly fazed by the commotion (it’s not yet 5pm), my companion, the photo-journalist Alex Gerry, remains unperturbed. This is unsurprising - as one of the most celebrated chroniclers of the world’s nightclub scenes Gerry thrives on impromptu craziness. From the mid 1980s onwards Gerry has photographed everyone from Boy George to Beth Ditto. If the spectacle was wild and colourful enough he was there with his camera, capturing the pivotal moments that set trends and defined eras.

Gerry has spent a lifetime under the strobes and tonight he’s off to yet another party, this time at a club in Chelsea, where everything is Margaret Thatcher themed. “I photographed her, you know,” says Gerry. “It was the late 80s, towards the end of her run, and I was working for DJ magazine at the time. They wanted people to come in to basically make the government look cool and with it, like they later did with Blair.” It seems ironic that Gerry, who surrounded himself with the type of flamboyant, anti-establishment creatures that the Conservative governent despised, would find himself in front of the woman responsible for demonising a whole generation through section 28 and a slew of other draconian measures directed at LGBT people and their ‘pretend families’. “Oh absolutely,” admits Gerry, savouring his Pinot Noir. “She was sitting right in front of me, with a drink, just like you are. And you know the most surprising thing? One to one she came across as very friendly and talkative. I was pinching myself, thinking what is going on? It’s not everyday that you have that sort of encounter I can tell you.”

But surreal experiences have always meant just another day at the office for Gerry. He was one of few people who got close to some of the mythical figures from the 80s and 90s, counting the likes of Leigh Bowery as personal friends. “I met Leigh very early on, when he turned up at Cha Cha’s, which was at the back of Heaven. Even then he was so eye catching, outrageous and a complete show off,” Gerry reminisces. “I interviewed and photographed him many times and he lived near me. He was really charming when he wanted to be and a very loveable person, but there was also another side to him. You had to be a bit careful.” “He could be very well behaved, well W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

23 B E I G E

spoken and polite, but also destructive and bitchy. Overall, he was adorable though.” I wonder whether the split type of personality that Gerry alludes to was perhaps inevitable among the larger than life figures that shaped the clubs in this period. “Well, with Leigh I guess in scientific terms you could say he was suffering from a schizotypal personality disorder, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Maybe he was just showing different aspects of his personality and you had to know how to deal with him. I’d share hotel rooms with him on trips to Paris and used to be a bit on my guard not to upset him.” Our conversation turns to another influential personality from this time, socialite Philip Sallon, who was interviewed by his long-standing friend Boy George in these pages in the spring. “What can I say about Philip?” he laughs. “He’s one of a kind, one in a million. If you know how to connect with him then you’ll be ok, but a lot of people just can’t cope with his personality. You either laugh along with him or get a bit miffed.” Gerry is in the process of compiling a comprehensive website featuring candid images of all of the celebrities he has worked with over the years. He has also written a book documenting the history of club land. I’m curious to know what his early motivations were. Was he always drawn to the alternative scene? “I think it’s just an inborn desire to capture something that is too good to waste,” he muses. “When I saw something eye catching and innovative in the clubs I wanted to capture that. I started off writing, as a journalist, and then the photography came along. “I’ve always found the scenes outside the gay scene more interesting, that goes without saying. I’ve stuck to the avant garde side of clubs and wouldn’t go to a gay club just for the sake of it. There would have to be something special going on. I certainly would never do Vauxhall unless I could help it,” he laughs. As someone who has seen so many changes over the years, what does he think of the current gay scene? “It’s in a bit of a rut really, isn’t it? There’s nothing progressive or innovative about it. I think it needs a complete overhaul. You don’t get W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

competition

win...

the larger than life characters today that you had in the 1980s and 1990s. They were originals. Nowadays it’s just a big déjà-vu, which is quite sad, but then I think that’s prevalent all across the board - in arts, politics, music, fashion. If you don’t know any better you can’t miss it and I guess if I was a 18 year old now I’d think it was all wonderful.”

One of two social memberships for Home House, London’s most exclusive private members’ club.

I suggest that there has been a certain amount of innovation on today’s gay scene, particularly in areas like Dalston and Shoreditch, and point to the idea of ‘bearded drag’ which has developed in recent years.

With its elegant drawing rooms, secret garden, fine dining restaurant, bars, sumptuous accommodation and the subterranean night spot The Vaults, Home House has it all. Social members gain access* to all this every evening and all weekend for a whole year. To be in with a chance of winning a one year social membership to Home House visit www.beigeuk.com The first 50 entrants will be eligible for a special membership rate offer, so what’s stopping you?!

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Gerry says carefully, “but I don’t really buy that look, because at the end of the day it could be funny as a one off look for a night out, but when it’s done all the time, as a one trick pony, it gets a bit tedious really. It’s tacky drag. What’s the point? If you’re going to make the effort to go out make the effort rather than going out looking like a lumber jack wearing a bit of lippy and a bad weave.” Clearly, for Gerry it’s going to be tough for the future to live up to the exuberant madness of the punk movement, a time which he fondly recalls “swept everything that ever existed away”, but he remains hopeful that youth culture can still fulfill its creative potential. “Hopefully it’s just a matter of time before something new happens,” he sighs. “But how long do we have to wait?” www.alexgerry.com

0 1 Andrew Log a n 0 2 a m a nd a Le p ore 0 3 d a vid c a b a ret 0 4 divine 0 5 m a g a ret t h a tc h er 0 6 p ete burns 0 7 l eig h bower y 0 8 de a d m a ri ly n 0 9 a l ex gerr y 1 0 go l dfr a p p 1 1 p a m h ogg

Terms and Conditions apply Refer to www.beigeuk.com *accommodation charges apply

the b l it z generation W R I T E R : tim p erkins

The 80s saw a huge explosion of creativity in London. Spurred on by the DIY self-expression of 70’s punk, a new generation of performers, artists and designers began to make their mark on an exciting and vibrant scene. The decade began with a recession inherited from the late 70s and was reflected in the torn denim/ ripped clothing of the ‘Hard Times’ look which was freely adapted by bands like Haysi Fantaysee and Dexys Midnight runners. The New Romantic movement took the opposite approach and embraced escapist theatricality as a reaction to the economic gloom and spawned bands like Visage, Spandau Ballet and Culture Club. The dressed up new romantics paved the way for the even more extreme looks of the nightclub Taboo in the middle of the decade and then fashion became secondary to music (and drugs) in the Acid house period of the late 80s. The dance floors of London nightclubs became a source of inspiration and a living catwalk for fashion and music with many of the movements mentioned above being linked to specific venues (New Romantic to the Blitz Club for example), whilst certain individuals seemed to embody the look of the period like Steve Strange, Princess Julia and the model Scarlett, all of whom gave rise to the cult of the club personality. After the global interest in the Punk phenomenon, the world’s eyes were on the UK, specifically London, to see what the next ‘movement’ would be. This resulted in a small network of designers subsequently influencing an increasingly global fashion scene and clubs like Leigh Bowery’s Taboo boasted an extraordinary mix of fashion students, established designers, television presenters and rock stars. A stringent dressed up door policy only made entry to these elitist venues more desirable and for once what you looked like, not how much money you earned, became of primary importance. John Galliano, Bodymap, Judy Blame and Stephen Jones all emerged from the relatively small scene to become known on the global fashion stage and international designers like Jean Paul Gaultier freely acknowledged the influence London’s street style had on their work.

A new exhibition at The Victoria & Albert Museum, curated by Claire Wilcox and a new book celebrating the seminal eighties fashion art magazine BLITZ have prompted further reexamination of this influential period. The exhibition Club to Catwalk explores the links between the headiness of London’s Nightclubs and the resulting fashion and design revolution. Utilising different formats to evoke a catwalk and nightclub area, the exhibition features a diverse collection of designs, from the arch romanticism of John Galliano’s early collections and Katherine Hamnett’s widely copied Political slogan t-shirts via the extreme Art/Costume hybrid creations of Leigh Bowery and high Glamour of Antony Price to the bold print and stretch collections of Bodymap and Pam Hogg. Also featured will be a selection of customised Levis denim jackets, commissioned by the magazine Blitz in 1986 Designers from Rifat Ozbek to Vivienne Westwood each created a unique one off jacket which was then auctioned off in aid of The Prince’s Trust. This will be the first time since 1986 that they will be seen on display together. BLITZ magazine, alongside The Face and ID magazine provided a valuable commentary on the fashion, art and music scene of the 1980s and a new book As seen in BLITZ, by Iain R. Webb, features a definitive collection of images as well as contemporary interviews with the models, stylists and designers who helped shape the magazine. The images are amazing and it’s interesting to see how much they still resonate today. It was a unique publication in that its focus was primarily on fashion, with an equal attention to Men’s and Women’s clothing, unusual at the time. www.vam.ac.uk Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s The Victoria & Albert Museum 10 July 2013 - 16 February 2014 As seen in BLITZ By Iain R Webb Published by ACC Editions

Scarf Paul Costelloe

a brief encounter W R I T E R : J on a t h a n K em p P hotography : R U D E B O y sty l ist : N a omi G r a y sty l ist A ssistant : M e l iss a Lee G roo m ing : C h ristine B a tem a n using M A C C osmetics

Long before Graham Norton, Alan Carr or Simon Amstell, there was The Joan Collins Fanclub – Julian Clary’s early 80s incarnation as an openly gay standup comic whose extreme make-up and pvc outfits outraged and excited audiences. With his faithful pooch, Fanny The Wonder Dog, he charmed and outraged British TV viewers on Saturday Night Live with his brand of innuendo and audience put-downs.

On the one hand, there seemed to be almost no precedent for what he was doing, yet at the same time, one might see him as part of a fine tradition of camp personalities in British culture such as Douglas Byng, Mrs Shufflewick, Frankie Howerd, Larry Grayson or Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick from Round the Horne. I caught up with Clary at his flat in Camden, where he showed me a signed, framed photo of legendary drag queen, HIH Regina Fong, and we reminisced about the Black Cap pub in the 80s/90s, where Regina ruled. “Those were the days,” he sighed. When I explained that I’d be recording the interview on Garageband on my Macbook, he said, “Isn’t it marvelous what you can do with those things?” and when I then opened it up and he spied my dusty screen and filthy keyboard, he quipped, “You could even clean it!” I felt a flush of pride at being the recipient of a Clary put-down. 27 B E I G E

He’s resting between legs (of a major tour) at the moment. The new show, Position Vacant: Apply Within, has been a sell out so far. “It was on the back of Big Brother, so that was exciting. And there’s a whole new audience, younger folk. I so enjoyed it that when I got to the end of the tour and there were so many places I hadn’t played l thought, well, let’s do a tour of all the places I missed out.” Ah, yes, Big Brother… In his memoir, A Young Man’s Passage, Clary wrote: “For all its drawbacks I recommend fame if it comes your way. You get paid more, it’s a tonic for your selfesteem, people are nicer to you and it makes life more interesting. It helps if you have a particular talent of some description. I imagine if you are a Big Brother contestant people just want to thump you.” Jacket and Shirt Manuel Ritz Trousers Paul Costelloe Watch STORM

I question Clary about this and he quips back, “Yes, but that’s not referring to Celebrity Big Brother.” This is true – plus, there’s no denying Clary’s talent of some description. I ask if it had been an immediate decision to go on the show. “I thought long and hard – which is unlike me – I usually make very quick decisions. Everyone said don’t do it. My agent, my partner, my parents. And because it’s a show that might be perceived as being past its prime, and there’s an element of desperation about celebrities doing it. I was aware of all these things, but I wanted the experience. And I thought it was very good timing because of the tour.” What was it like? “The winning is another thing, but being on the other side of the cameras was strange, because I’ve watched it avidly over the years. I’ve always liked it as an interesting experiment to see how people behave. And of course it’s quite unpleasant. It’s not a house, it’s a TV studio, and you’re very quickly made aware of that. It’s different in there from what you see on the screen somehow. It’s quite claustrophobic and quite bizarre. All sorts of different things happen in your brain while you’re in there. When I came out, I was for a while rather institutionalised, you’re so used to being told what to feel in a way because you’re emotionally manipulated, and you’re cut off, you can’t read any newspapers or watch television. And then the people you’re

W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

there with, oh look there’s Julie Goodyear, and you see them warts and all. It must be like being in a prison cell in Turkey or somewhere when there’s 20 to a cell and whether you like it or not these are the people you’ve got to spend your time with. You find things you like. I found things I liked about everyone. That’s what I brought away from it, that I’m often quick to judge, but if you give people a chance they’re basically good. I’m really not very sociable, I spend a lot of time alone or with just one or two people, and I was very quiet in there, and didn’t particularly want to be the life and soul, but what I took away was that there’s something interesting about everyone and you shouldn’t be so quick to judge.” I mentioned how touching it had been to watch him and Julie Goodyear get on like the proverbial house on fire. They’ve remained in contact. “We speak a lot, on the phone. I love talking to her, she’s got a very comforting voice. No nonsense, highly intelligent. God, she’s lived a life. She’s the product of what she’s been through in every way.” I’m curious to know about the new show, Position Vacant. What’s involved? “I get eight men out of the audience and audition them to be my husband for the evening and then I ‘marry’ the winner. My partner had gone to work in LA and hadn’t come back, so on a flippant level, the new show idea was that I’d show him! There’s an element that anything could happen. It generates great howls of laughter because I get these men doing very unexpected things, and I tell them off.” Has he had any difficulty finding eight men a night willing to go up on stage and be humiliated in front of an audience? “I’m quite good at picking the right people, there’s a certain instinct involved, a bit of eye contact. The best people are the really shy people that think they can’t do it but they can. They go on a bit of a journey and triumph over their inhibitions, so it’s something they can talk about at dinner parties, if nothing else.” Unlike many of those 80s comics, Clary has never been seen as a particularly political comedian, but I suggest that his very existence is political. 29 B E I G E

Shirt Manuel Ritz Trousers Paul Costelloe

“I think so. I don’t often specifically talk about current affairs and politics. There’s a way of doing it through comedy, which has always been my chosen path. It’s a form of escapism. I create a world around me with the show.” But in 1993, at the British Academy Awards, Clary walked on to the stage to announce a winner and commented on the green foliage of the set, making a crack about how nice it was of them to make it look like Hampstead Heath. He didn’t stop there and went on to make the now infamous remark about having just fisted Norman Lamont, the then chancellor of the exchequer of the Conservative government. It was a scandalous moment that had the right wing press foaming at the mouth. Just how damaging was this to his career? “I don’t mind a bit of infamy. It’s dogged me around. It’s 20 years now. My usual response is that in retrospect things happen for a purpose and I was in need of some space in my life.” I wonder if, perhaps, it endeared the public to him more. “Taxi drivers always mention it. And he had no right being at a comedy awards. I was outraged that he was even in the room and that’s sort of why I did it. Luckily, it’s a funny joke. If one’s going to be quoting material 20 years after you say it then I’m happy with that particular line. I’m very proud of it. It’ll be on my gravestone.” Clary’s no stranger to seasonal panto, and it was a couple of years ago, in Dick Whittington, that he came face to face with Joan Collins, who took out a cease and desist from his using her name in his stage name, Joan Collins Fan Club. “And who can blame her?” he said, “She thought that was a piss take, but it never was.” I asked what it was like to meet her, finally? “In the end it was a joy, and I was absolutely star struck and she knows that that’s the ability she has. She didn’t arrive until the third day of rehearsals. In the afternoon the door opened and she was there in a fur coat and hat, and we were busy rehearsing a scene and everybody froze, including the director, so I said ‘Joan how lovely to see you,’ and I went up to kiss her, or shake her hand, and she said ‘I

don’t touch people’ and so I felt very put in my place. And so we circled around each other because of the Joan Collins Fan Club, and I was a bit scared. However, six weeks in panto breaks down all barriers, we were in adjoining rooms, and now I just love her and admire her and we play poker together.” A few years ago, Clary turned his talents to writing novels and has now published three, with a children’s book in the pipeline, as well as judging on a new Saturday night talent show for ITV. We may even get further up his passage with a second volume of memoirs (“I’ve got a lot to say about my life since 1993, so at some point, yes.”) I tell him that I saw him in Jean Genet’s Splendid’s at the Lyric Hammersmith in 1995, directed by Neil Bartlett.

“I don’t mind a bit of infamy. It’s dogged me around... My usual response is that in retrospect things happen for a purpose and I was in need of some space in my life.”

“I’m a huge Genet fan, so I didn’t have to think about it. It was so lovely to be in this world of proper theatrical endeavour that Neil creates. He knows what he’s doing. We had four weeks of rehearsals and improvisations and getting to know the script, which helped because I’m not really an actor, and as such, I found it difficult. He is very inspiring to work with and he takes you into dark places.” I showed him my tattoo of Genet as drawn by Cocteau and he told me he had an original drawing of a naked sailor by Cocteau. Although he studied drama at Goldsmiths, Clary doesn’t get much ‘straight’ acting work, although he’d love more of it. “I love what I do and I love that it’s so self sufficient. I write my own stuff and I can mess around on stage. I love that there’s no fourth wall and so on. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as the hit from getting a huge laugh in a theatre full of people. All I can say about myself is that I’m still here, it’s that thing of sustaining it for what is now 30 odd years. Who’d have thought? I wouldn’t have done. I thought, a couple of years of this and then I’ll have to get a job.” Thanks to that staying power, you can catch Clary soon – perhaps even marry him – in a theatre near you. And, who knows, perhaps there’ll be a joke about fisting George Osbourne. www.julianclary.co.uk 31 B E I G E

Jumpsuit Bas Kosters

COLOUR IN MOTION P hotography : A l ex a nder B eer sty l ist : n a omi gr a y G R O O M I N G : J on a s O l iver using M A C C osmetics M O D E L : Ant h on y ‘ B B ’ K a y e @ S torm M ode l s F A S H I O N A S S I S T A N T S : M e l iss a Lee a nd M onesi a S a mue l s

Top Christian Lacroix

Parka and Shorts Markus Lupfer

Trousers Bas Kosters

Watch STORM Watches

Neckpiece Little Shilpa

Anorak Marcus Lupfer

Jacket Cheap Monday

Shorts Cheap Monday

Trousers Joseph Turvey

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Belt Senhor Prudencio Watch STORM Watches

Blazer Joseph Turvey

T-shirt Trine Lindegaard

Trousers Thomas Codd

Trousers Gant Rugger

Scarf Basso & Brooke Watch STORM Watches

Rollneck Orschel Read Sunglasses Marc Jacobs Brooches Little Shilpa

Two Piece Tailored Suit Orschel Read Swim Shorts Basso & Brooke Brooch Little Shilpa

John Sizzle and A Man To Pet “Sister, sister,

oh so fair,

why is there blood

all over my hair?” Adrian LOUrie Photography Presents:

WHAT EVER HAPPENED To BABY GRIZZLE?

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Things you should know about this picture essay before turning the page: 1 Styling by Max Allen 2 Make Up: Vassilis Theotokis using MAC Pro 3 Make Up Assistant: Vivian Katsari 4 Photography Assistant: Fannar Gudmundsson 5 Costumes: Beyond Retro

“Raven talent, awards of gold”

“Duelling sisters, right from the start... A life entwined, never to part.”

“Golden, fair, thin as a thimble. Fame for one, but soon to dwindle.”

“A drunken push? Their fate be told.”

“Deluded, wrought, jealous and rageous, ol’ sibling rivalry, our whole lives has plagued us.”

“Sister, sister! We must make amends.”

“You mean all this time... We could have been friends?”

John Sizzle and A Man To Pet Launch GRIZZLE! 12 July at Dalston Superstore

Trunks Speedo Bracelet STORM

SATURATED P hotography : S P E C U LA R S T Y L I S T: A + C : S T U D I O m ode l : ada m cowie @ stor m m ode l s P hotography A ssistant : mic h a e l d a g l is h groo m ing : ju l ie a nn p a ttinson J . A M a ke - u p Artistr y H air : a N ge l a l ower y for y s a l on

Leather Jacket Jacket AllSaints Cheap Monday Shirt Trousers Euphorik London Joseph Turvey BeltSuit Jacket and Shorts Senhor Prudencio Qasimi Watch Boots STORM Watches Red or Dead Rings The Great Frog Eyepatch Stylists own

Sunglasses Police Watch STORM Jeans Citizens of Humanity

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Shorts HOM @ Figleaves Sunglasses Ray Ban

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writer : a rndt stobb a

It’s a well-known fact that some of the greatest people in the world come in pairs, and fashion designers are no exception. While many create amazing collections (supposedly) on their own, nobody can deny the greatness of two creative spirits that complement, criticise and support one another. Lynda and Daniel Kinne, the designerduo behind London-based label A La Disposition, are an example of two great minds that came together, work together and simply seem to be meant for each other. When I visited the couple in their South London home for a chat in their living room that doubles as an atelier, it became clear to me that these two are more than on the same wave-length. These are two creatives who found each other, found their place, mean business and are serious about a great future. Lynda, who was born in the suburbs of New York City, studied and worked in photography for a while before going back to college to study fashion design. “I was always torn between fashion and photography. It was nice to be able to study both,” Lynda explains. Photography gave her the artistic freedom she wanted in her late teens, which is why it was more appealing to her than fashion at first. “I honestly didn’t have the maturity [to work in fashion]. I wanted to study art and not have it be my entire life at that point. I did love photography, but it was very hard to make money and after a few years out of school I was ready to go back and study fashion. I was glad I waited, because I had much more focus and I think I got much more out of it than I would have done if I had gone the first time.” Unlike Lynda, who was always drawn to the creative industries, Daniel, who grew up with parents who were both scientists in Germany and New York, originally aimed for a medical career and later explored linguistics, before he developed an interest in fashion. “Up until my mid-twenties, I didn’t even think about the fact that clothes were actually made or anything like that,” he remembers. “I hadn’t found my true path yet. But the real transformation came when I suddenly started designing garments and outfits. It became a passion and W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

ever since that I’ve been studying all the manifold ways of how clothing has been made in the past and applying that to the kind of futurist aesthetic that we have. “Combining the skills that have matured over hundreds of years and bringing them forward into the next century, that’s where our passion lies when we both work on making the clothing.” After deciding to work in fashion, each of them secured a place at the prestigious Parsons the New School for Design in New York, where they met and developed a professional as well as personal relationship. In addition to studying at Parsons, both of them accumulated and perfected a whole array of skills. Lynda moved on to study Historical Corsetry at London College of Fashion, whereas Daniel started an apprenticeship with a tailor in London’s Carnaby Street, among other things. After that they continued to produce their own collections as a team back in New York, but eventually decided to permanently move to London in 2011 for a number of reasons. “New York’s fashion is very commercial,” says Lynda. “They don’t have a lot of room for creative people. There is no retail. We had to come here to meet with the buyers and it became such an expense that it was cheaper to move than to constantly go back and forth. Over here they’re much more receptive to people who experiment and push the boundaries.” “Our heart really lies here,” adds Daniel. “Very formative time was spent here after we graduated. School is fine and good, but after that you really explore the other segments of the industry. I also think it’s a much more educated group of people here in

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A LA DISPOSITION

London that really have the depth and a deeper insight and we can connect with that much better.” It is easy to see why London is the right place for the duo. Their designs explore new masculinities and femininities, combine traditional techniques with innovative cuts and shapes and represent a strong and independent character. The two have been producing women’s wear collections for a few seasons now and added a menswear line to their portfolio in January 2013. Producing two collections every season without any assistants seems like an almost impossible task, but when Daniel and Lynda describe their creative process it sounds like an easy job, which I think is down to their efficient way of working in a team. While Daniel designs looks and makes sketches, Lynda chooses sketches and garments they will eventually produce and decides what fabrics they work with. Being very experienced in tailoring, Daniel often works on tailored men’s and women’s pieces as well as trousers, while Lynda often crafts adventurous menswear tops, shirts and women’s garments. It is a symbiosis of different skills that complement each other perfectly. “Over the years we’ve come to see who’s best at certain things, but we’re both confident in everything, I would say. What’s also great is that we take sketches sometimes and interpret them separately. You know, Lynda has an idea of how to make something and I have an idea, there are infinite combinations of how to get the same silhouette, the same kind of feel. It’s a lot of fun to see what we both come up with and it gives a nice, homogenous feel to the collection,” says Daniel.

Talking to them I can understand why so far there has been no room or need for any assistants. There is something between them that outsiders don’t get. It’s as if their creative minds are one; the result would be spoilt if other people were involved. A La Disposition is definitely in for a bright future. Not only do Lynda and Daniel produce men’s as well as women’s wear, they have also launched a unisex perfume, named {intangible}, with the goal to enhance and complete the experience that their collections create. {intangible} consists of two different components stored in separate compartments, enabling the wearer to use both of them or either one. This makes the perfume suitable for different personalities, moods and occasions. The two designers are also thinking of expanding their accessory range, as well as getting a lot more into what they refer to as “Runway to Retail.” Rather than using runway shows attended only by press and buyers, Lynda and Daniel present their collections during presentations, where they personally engage with a selected group of guests as well as fashion-enthusiastic members of the public. In addition to that, pieces from the collections are instantly available for their guests to purchase, which means impatient fashionistas can get their hands on breath-taking garments while the excitement is fresh. It is clear that innovation is not just for show-pieces and catwalks at A La Disposition, but a thread that runs through the whole business. We can look forward to more! www.aladisposition.com

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Eastern adventures wr I ter : h o l est a r

In London she’s the one and only ‘Tranny with a fanny,’ but every two years or so Holestar likes to leave the crazy city behind, up roots, get lost and discover an unknown culture. For my first stop, I arrived late in Bangkok, a city that makes London feel like a country village. It’s hot, crazy and chaotic, but it works. I met up with the marvellous New York drag queens Linda Simpson and Thairin Smothers (a producer for RuPaul’s Drag Race) in the gay district of Silom, a cul-de-sac full of bars packed with young Thai boys in numbered white underpants, waiting to be taken home for the evening. After dinner we saw the Dream Boys show which is spectacular in a voyeuristic way. It took all of my power not to jump on stage to take over hosting the show as the western man shouting in broken English was ruining the flow, which slid from the sublime to the ridiculous. There were slick dance routines, slapstick drag queens, a rather awkward sex scene (that could have been quite sexy if directed better) and a beautiful piece of contemporary dance. The house lights went down, a black light came on. Three dancers proceeded to pull endless neon coloured elastic out of their bottoms, hooking and twisting it around the stage while pulling flamboyant and stunning moves. A cross between Madonna’s Human Nature video and a Michael Clark porn tribute. My tourist highlights are Wat Po with its serene atmosphere and 43 metre long reclining Buddha and the fascinating if macabre Forensic Museum in Siriraj Hospital with skeletons, dissected bodies and Siamese twins in jars of formaldehyde, making anything by Damien Hirst look positively pedestrian. There’s a fantastic locals’ market opposite the hospital too that does the most wonderful banana pancakes and ice tea. From Bangkok, I headed to Ko Samet, an island I imagine was quite heavenly a while ago, but has been over developed. I took a room in Vongdeuan with a feisty transgender woman who showed complete indifference towards me (which I kind of liked). Despite transgendered Thai people not being allowed to officially marry or change their name, there’s a general acceptance of the third gender. ‘Katoi’

girls have regular jobs and go about their lives completely unprovoked, something we can only hope for in the rest of the world. I headed east but was shafted with my ticket, as were a German lesbian couple who kicked up quite a fuss, shouting and swearing. A crowd formed. Thai people chose to save face rather than argue which made the butcher of the two more incensed. I, however, remained surprisingly calm. Expecting things to be ordered should be forgotten when travelling. Yes, it can be frustrating at times but worth trying to go with the flow and letting go. After stopping in Trat and exploring the market full of bowled brains, bugs and mystery meats, I moved to the wonderful Mairood Resort (www.mairoodresort.com) in Hat Mai Rut, towards the Cambodian border. If you like parties and wild night life forget it - it’s the perfect relaxing, reasonably priced hideaway with five star ambience, food and service. To reach it you walk through a traditional fishing village on a concrete walkway. One slip and you’re in the estuary. The resort itself is isolated from the village and opens up to a lush pool and garden full of birds, dogs, cats and a variety of flora and fauna. The resort is situated by a lagoon, a short walk and you hit a completely isolated white sand beach. I sat there for two hours without a soul walking by, just the sound of the fishing boats chugging along. Chin was our host with the absolute most and makes everyone welcome. I stayed for four nights initially, but loved it so much that I returned for another ten at the end of my trip. A stunning place and highly recommended. As I had a gig to get to, I ventured forth into Cambodia. Once through the chaos of the border, I jumped on the back of a moped (picture a plus sized girl, with a large holdall between her legs and the driver perched on an inch of the seat...quite a sight) to catch the bus to the capital, Phnom Phen. Cambodian bus journeys are quite an experience. Twee Khmer karaoke is played at full blast with every video featuring blushing youths singing about love. Someone disapproved and there was some sort of tussle. It was much like Enrique Iglesias’ Hero video. On a loop. For eight hours.

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I met up my with my guide Marcus on his battered moped (no helmet or lights) who promotes Shameless, the biggest gay friendly club night at Pontoon. I had to travel eight thousand miles to get my first solo front cover (for arts magazine The Advisor), so the club was full with expats, tourists, cute boys and working girls. My show started with the audience subdued and reserved and finished with squealing and shouts of “I love you.” I aim to please. While in town, Marcus and I ate dodgy street food, went to a pool party full of trustafarians (“yah, I looked into a child’s eyes and understood the heart of Cambodia” – Yeah, right, dick face), watched the Friday night drag show at Blue Chilli (great looks and energy, but please learn the songs girls), saw a bizarre domestic violence show at a Khmer drag club and met up with Feral is Kinky, who was also on tour in Southeast Asia, for a cocktail. Unfortunately, the alternative drag workshop I’d prepared didn’t go to plan, but I managed to flex my teaching muscle when meeting some boys at the 2 Colours bar and taught them to strut like supermodels and look at strong, fierce women as an inspiration instead of passive dolls. It’s hard to ignore Cambodia’s heartbreaking, incredibly recent history. While people don’t speak of it, the effects of the hideous Khmer Rouge still exist. Pay your respects at the fascinating and tragic Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. After a week in Phnom Phen, it was time to face the masses at Siem Reap. I’d advise booking a room ahead as I spent a while chugging around in a tuk tuk before finding a room next to a booming disco (which thankfully didn’t play Gangnam Style, which was the endless theme song of the trip). It would be rude not to go and see the temples of Ankor when in the area. Upon first seeing the world’s largest religious building, Ankor Wat, I have to admit to gasping and clutching my pearls. You’ll have to hire transport as the temples are miles apart from each other, so it’s worth getting a driver for the day which costs less than a decent lipstick. All the temples at Ankor are truly amazing, but my favourite has to be the multiple faced Bayon that looks like a pile of rubble from afar but is truly beautiful up close.

From Siem Reap, I headed south to Kampot, a charming town on the river where I met Freya from the incredible Banteay Srey Project (banteaysreyproject.org), a safe refuge for women, which assists them in training and empowering themselves. I was only there for a week and limited in terms of how I could help so I gave singing lessons to a girl who was sold into the sex trade at a young age, is HIV positive, blind and was left at the side of a road to die. She is now learning new skills, getting healthy and is being given an opportunity to create a life formerly denied to her. If you want to help a grass roots development project that spends every penny on the women it trains and helps and doesn’t exploit them like many charities, I fully endorse it.

win... A luxury break in Hertfordshire with Marriott Hotels & Resorts

On to Rabbit Island, off Kep. It’s a small island where you can rent a beach shack for $10. The water is warm and still and it was here that I experienced one of the most magnificent natural experiences of my life (and I’ve sat atop the Sahara desert at sunrise). The island only gets three hours of electricity from seven to ten at night so once the lights go out, it’s pitch black. You then step into the Gulf of Thailand and once in the water, you literally glow in the dark. The plankton in the water become phosphorous and stick to your body. It’s like being in Tron. When you swim out, it feels like swimming in the stars, the water ripples out in neon ripples and it makes you feel as high as a kite to experience something so unique and unusual. You can’t photograph it to get the glorious effect of neon bodies in the dark, but it’s a wonderful image scorched into my brain and a lasting memory of a spectacular adventure.

To celebrate the launch of the Beige Travel Club, Marriott is giving away a luxury weekend break for two at the beautiful Hanbury Manor, a Marriott Hotel and Country Club. With its fragrant walled garden, stately Jacobean country house and 200 acres of Hertfordshire parkland, the historic Hanbury Manor, a Marriott Hotel and Country Club, leaves a lasting impression. A timehonoured country retreat, guests can enjoy the hotel’s luxury spa, take on the PGA championship golf course or simply relax and enjoy the warm service. For more information visit www.marriotthanburymanor.co.uk. For your chance of winning, simply sign up to the Beige Travel Club at www.beigeuk.com by 31st July to be automatically entered into the prize draw.

I could go on about the wonderful people I met, incredible food, glorious beaches, obnoxious tourists, poverty, numerous Buddhas, fresh seafood, bizarre sights and being laughed and pointed at (as an extra large, lone female with very short hair, I was quite the oddity), but these are things you’ll have to go and discover yourself. And if you’ve ever thought “ooh I’d quite like to travel, but don’t have the nerve to go alone,” yes, yes you can. If I can, anyone can. Just do it! www.holestar.com

Terms and Conditions The prize includes two nights’ bed and breakfast for two people. The winner will be chosen at random on 01 August 2013 and contacted with details of how to redeem the prize. The prize must be used by 1 June 2014 and is subject to availability

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SARASOTA: an unconditional surrender wr I ter : b a rr y jo h nston

W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

Escaping to The USA for a city break or vacation may be the closest that any of us get to ‘living the American dream’ and naturally we all have different interpretations of what exactly that ‘dream’ entails. My dream has always included a convertible, rooftop down and an epic cross country road trip, Thelma and Louise style, just minus the gun wielding and driving off a cliff. While cities on the east coast of Florida like Miami and Fort Lauderdale may draw a larger crowd and offer more of a hedonistic party vibe, head over to the lesser explored west coast and you may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover - miles of pristine sandy beaches, a plethora of culinary delights and a cultural smorgasbord that has led to this particular stretch of coastline being dubbed ‘Florida’s Cultural Coast’.

The jewel in Florida’s west coast crown is Sarasota and her string of eight islands, located on the Gulf coast, and conveniently perched between Tampa to the north and Fort Meyers to the south. From the powder white sand beaches, glorious sunsets and tropical mangroves offering sightings of the sea and land wildlife, the city known as the ‘Circus Capital of the World’, thanks to the legacy of circus magnate John Ringling, has plenty on offer just begging to be explored. Flying into Tampa we picked up our rental car and were overjoyed to discover it was an understated white Mustang convertible. The squeals of delight from the three intrepid travellers were priceless as we began the hour long trip south to our destination for the next five days. The adventure pretty much started there as we over-eagerly dropped the soft top, put on our shades and cruised out of the airport, although it was rather a jumpy start as I got accustomed to driving an overly sensitive automatic on what to us Brits is the wrong side of the road. The sat nav failing within the first few minutes set the tone for the first leg of our journey as we tried to navigate our way using the world’s

biggest foldable map, while heading over the vast expanse of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, soaring high over the waters of Tampa Bay below. It’s fair to say this was our first Thelma & Louise moment. We finally arrived in Sarasota midevening, and after checking into the delightful Hotel Indigo, set out to explore our new surroundings and dived right into the local cuisine. Boasting one of the highest Zagatrated concentrations of restaurants in Florida you really are spoilt for choice with eating establishments, ranging from beach style shacks serving up fresh seafood to five star gastronomic dining experiences. As we were within walking distance of downtown Sarasota our hotel’s concierge recommended a list of possibilities. Being a Thursday evening it was relatively subdued, but a thatched canopy bar on the corner of Main Street was bursting at the seams as live music blared out. We stumbled across Mé-lan-ge, one of the eateries on our list, and were warmly welcomed by the friendly staff. What ensued was a feast of eclectic cuisine, with elements drawn from a variety of 67 B E I G E

different sources. Choosing to share four desserts between the three of us to finish off the evening did just that, finished us off. We practically crawled our way back to the hotel. The coastline is protected by eight barrier islands or keys, as they are known locally, separated by intercostal waterways linked to the mainland by a series of breathtaking bridges. With 13 public beaches and miles of waterfront right on the doorstep deciding which beach to spend the day on is not an easy choice. Our first port of call was Lido Key, closely linked to downtown Sarasota. St Armands Circle is the heart of this key and offers a blend of boutiques and dining options, all located around a central roundabout, or circle, paying respect to the circus history of the town. Stone statues dedicated to the circus founders are dotted around the manicured gardens, exemplifying the area’s cultural diversity. It’s perfect for a spot of retail therapy as it’s just a short stroll to the beckoning sands of Lido Key. The warm turquoise waters gently lap against the shoreline which extends as far as the eye can see in both directions, boasting three beaches: North Lido, Lido Beach and South Lido. Albatrosses drop from the sky as they dive in on their unsuspecting prey. Yuppies drift past in their motor boats or drop anchor just off shore, their crew enjoying the onboard amenities or swimming to shore to lounge on the glorious sand or partake in some beachfront games. The northern stretch of North Lido is home to Sarasota’s only gay beach, the rainbow umbrellas letting you know you’ve arrived. W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

Discovering a flat tyre upon returning to the car was probably our second Thelma and Louise moment, as we stood looking on, wondering how it was going to repair itself. Finding the closest gas station we fumbled our way around re-inflating the culprit. An onslaught of verbal abuse from a disgruntled local in the central reservation followed. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that that we were driving a snazzy convertible number while he was cooped up in an old banger. towing a trailer behind him - car envy for sure! Back on the road we headed over to the mainland and just a short drive down the coast hopped over to Siesta Key, famous for its satiny white sands and beach town atmosphere. It was awarded the prize spot of number one beach in the USA in 2011. The sands are almost entirely made of crushed quartz crystal and this unique composition not only gives it an unmistakable sparkle, but also keeps it cool under the blistering Florida sun. Ocean Boulevard cuts through Siesta Key Village and is dotted with wood clad restaurants and bars and the Siesta Key Oyster Bar, or SKOB, is just one of the local favourites. The walls are a patchwork of dollar bills which have been stapled on by guests who have passed through it’s laid back doors. Oysters were our natural go to on the menu and the trayful that arrived on a bed of ice didn’t disappoint. Locally caught Mahi-Mahi or Grouper fish sandwiches come highly recommended with the option of having your fish blackened, jerked, grilled or prepared in their signature key lime style. The Players Theatre was a convenient five minute walk from our hotel and Drag Queen Bingo was on the bill for

the evening. Drag in the States is somewhat different to the drag we’re accustomed to in the UK and mainly involves lip syncing and an expectation of tips from the audience during every number. Nonetheless it was a good laugh, even if we were possibly the only gays in the audience. Sarasota has a history steeped in the world of circus and today the John Ringling Circus legacy lives on in the jaw dropping 66-acre Ringling Estate along the waterside of Sarasota Bay. The estate is composed of the circus magnate’s exquisite Venetian Gothic style home, Cà d`Zan, which is an architectural masterpiece designed to emulate the Doge’s Palace in Venice. A luscious rose garden leads the way to the Circus Museum. Inside you’ll find an extensive collection of vintage memorabilia including original circus wagons, costumes and artefacts belonging to long gone but not forgotten clowns. The main act is a 3800 square foot miniature circus, a replica of the Barnum & Bailey Circus from the early 1900s, constructed over 50 years. A short stroll through the gardens leads to the palatial pièce de résistance, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, which houses over 600 Baroque masterpieces, and much to our delight was hosting a showcase collection of Herb Ritts’ iconic photographic images. The central courtyard bursts with colourful floral displays, complete with fountains, bronze and stone replicas of iconic Classical, Renaissance and Baroque sculptures including Michelangelo’s statue of David. The Osolo Theatre, an 18th century playhouse originally constructed in Osolo, Italy, is also situated within the grounds of the estate. Ringling had it dismantled in Italy and moved here, as you do...

Barnacle Bills Seafood Restaurant claims to be one of Sarasota’s finest seafood restaurants. It took us a good half an hour just to decipher the vast menu offering every variety of freshly caught seafood, cooked and served in just about any which way imaginable. The local gay nightspot, Throb, is located in an industrial area on the outskirts of town and the warehouse venue is complete with pool tables, go go boys and even hosts weekly foam parties. As a bad weather front moved in on our final day it gave us the excuse to hit the shopping malls. Macy’s and a Starbucks it was. We drove down the coast to the shark tooth capital of the world, Venice, where quaint shops and truly quirky architecture are in abundance. The Crows Nest Marina Restaurant gave a perfect vantage point over the Venice Inlet where motor boats were moored just offshore and their occupants could be found in the warm shallow waters, drinks in hand and music pumping, creating a vision of what I imagine spring break must be like to the wealthier younger segment of the population. The iconic ‘Unconditional Surrender’ statue, which stands on the bay front side of downtown Sarasota, may be a good visual similarity of my experience of this idyllic place. Just like a soldier returning from war, unexpected and victorious, embracing his lover in his arms as he plants an enduring kiss, so too did Sarasota take me by surprise and leave a lasting impression. The friendly people, the exceptional food, the gorgeous weather and incredible beaches I find still tugging at my heart strings. www.visitsarasota.org 69 B E I G E

specia l thanks to : H O M E H O U S E

S a m l ee A P P L I E S H is MU S I C A L M A K E u p W R I T E R : tris p enn a P hotography : a dri a n l ourie assistant : f a nn a r gudmundsson

TP: What was the first record you bought? SL: I joined the Britannia Music Club, illegally as I wasn’t old enough, and amongst the records I bought were Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Dangerous, MC Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em and The Bodyguard soundtrack. The first single I ever bought was either Would I Lie To You? by Charles and Eddie or McAlmont and Butler’s Yes. And funnily enough I’m doing some work with Bernard Butler right now... who’d’ve thought? TP: Who was your teenage pop crush idol? SL: Well I was an extremely massive Michael Jackson fan. I was deadly serious and met him a couple of times, even sleeping outside of hotels. A complete obsessive. I still pick apart the albums with fresh ears every time I hear them.

Mercury Music Prize nominated Sam Lee talks to Tris Penna about his love of source singing, travellers and Michael Jackson... Tris Penna: What music was around you in your home as you were growing up? Sam Lee: My dad was sometimes a professional guitarist, so there was a lot of jazz, and a lot of him singing to us kids - the Paul Simon songbook, The Beatles and Skiffle. My mum is a massive opera fan - she’s an encyclopaedia of opera, which was an obsession she had since her twenties - she ended up dating Pavarotti in the 1970s! So he was a big part of the musical ambience and occasionally part of the family when he visited London. It was a very extraordinary experience, being in the bosom of great romantic opera at a young age (though it never grabbed me). W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

TP: Off The Wall just has to be one of the best albums ever doesn’t it? SL: Dangerous is my favourite! There’s something dark about Dangerous that I love. It touches on the odd psychology of him. And I love dance. I’m passionate about it and trained as a dancer. Michael Jackson just exploded that appreciation of movement - how song and movement are both one and apart. I think that the rules of what makes a magnificent performer have been written by him in some ways, in terms of how an artist draws from so many influences, from Charlie Chaplin to street kids. I put a lot more of him into my work than one would ever realise, just in terms of the open eyed approach. And it kind of works for all artists in some ways, it’s transposable but it’s about looking at the world through a child’s eyes. A sense of playfulness. TP: Tell me about the music that you associate with the first time you fell in love SL: (gales of laughter) Just by nature of association, and not necessarily music which when I hear now makes me recall that moment, but the first time that I had sex with somebody I was passionate about, I was in Paris with someone I’d met at art school. They were half Romanian and we had this amazing night in their mother’s apartment, with windows open... We kissed, just on the roof, and put on a CD of Mongolian sygyt Tuvan throat singing (more laughter) which is the most unsexy music in the world! But that music was so part of that one night. Not the most romantic song, but it was certainly the song of the moment. I was 18 and open to

anything. I was in Paris, on my own, everything was a new experience. TP: And your favourite piece of dance music? SL: Well, I did make a pact with myself that for being able to dance, every time I hear a Michael Jackson song I have to respond to it and Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough is for me the quintessential rhythm record and I even use it as my warm up for whenever I sing as it’s such a great riff. TP: What’s your guilty musical secret? SL: Oh shit! I’m so boring, I’m such a purist. I’m quite snobbish in that I think ‘I mustn’t soil my listening time, my ears with this’. But my guilty pleasure? It goes back to the music of my youth - I do love Madonna’s later stuff, Erotica, I just love it. It captures that dark, slightly confused sexual era for me, you know, what is sexuality? And then it’s laid out so explicitly, yet at the same time so convoluted; you know, twisted. TP: Your all-time musical hero? SL: Joni Mitchell. She got me out of pop and rescued me, aged 17, which was when I first heard Blue. That was it! She introduced me to a whole other approach to music, which was open hearted, passionate, oddly tuned, weaving melodies, poetry. She came to me when I’d been listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin and the Doors, which I felt I had to listen to. I knew it was harking to something a little bit more raw and natural in its approach, as coming from the gut, as opposed to the wallet. Everything that Joni recorded up to 1979 I know inside and out. The last song on Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter is The Silky Veils of Ardor. I see this as the swansong and closure for the 70’s, the most ritualistic and atavistic song of her entire career.

clutching this whale bone, catching his breath and I said to him ‘thankyou Stanley, it was wonderful to hear you sing’ and he turned around and looked at me, and said “Aah know a thoooussaaasnd baaallads”. And that was it, I was a changed man. It was cinematic and epic. The beginning of my new journey. TP: What’s the favourite of your own recordings? SL: I’ve only released one album, so there’s very little publicly available material. But there’s a recording made of the last time I saw Stanley before he died when he introduced me to his cousin Elizabeth Stewart, who’s still alive and an old lady traveller, a wild, wild woman. I went to her house and I sang the song ‘The Tan Yard Slide’ from my album. I sang the song and she played along, just improvising chords and Stanley harmonised. It was the last time I would see Stanley, so it will always be the last moment of us celebrating the music together. So there was a great sorrow and great beauty to that recording. TP: And, to use an old-fashioned expression, who currently turns you on? SL: Sam Amidon. An American musician, lives in Dalston, married to Beth Orton. He’s a phenomenal mind, musician, experimenter, jazzman (but traditional song) banjo player, fiddle player. Works with Nico Muhly a lot - and I think what they do together is just so exciting, and honest, and real, but experimental and challenging. So he is… (the phone rings - and our in demand young man speaks) hello is that Jessica from the BBC?, I’m just five minutes away on Charlotte Street... www.samleesong.co.uk

TP: An unforgettable performance? SL: Ok… (thinks - and Sam’s phone rings with the BBC chasing him - he’s a man in demand!) I think I have to say it was when I first saw the man who ended up becoming my teacher, the Scottish traveller Stanley Robertson. Until then I’d never seen a true, authentic source singer. I thought they were all dead so to then see one of these men of ancient history there singing at Whitby festival completely floored me. I had to completely reassess everything I’d thought about folk song and suddenly it wasn’t a revival tradition - here it was very much alive. Then I went up and met him afterwards, chasing him up the cliff. It was a stormy night and he was 71 B E I G E

P H O T O G R A P H Y: R U D E B O Y

A rtist S pot l ight : steve strange / visage W R I T E R : jon p l e a sed

Steve Strange is back with a new Visage LP and a new band line-up. I caught up with him for a chat about the release.

A S S I S TA N T: D E A N S T O C K I N G S

Jon Pleased: Hi Steve, it’s good to see you back on the scene. Steve Strange: Huge hello to the immensely talented Jon Pleased Wimmin. I hope you like the album!

groo m ing : c h ristine b a tem a n

JP: Thanks! How was the experience of making an album again, was it fun? SS: In the beginning I was thinking “am I doing the right thing here?” It was a long, drawn out process that was on then off, then on then off. We have a very loyal worldwide fanship (I don’t want to say fan base) who have been nothing but kind and considerate in their waiting because when we announced this album there were times I wanted to jump ship, it was more of a headache than an enjoyment. Certain members left, I was working with people I didn’t know, and I wasn’t enjoying it at all. Then I put my foot down and said I want Robin Simon, Steve Barnacle and Logan Sky. I also had Lauren Duvalle (the most amazing girl singer) up my sleeve. The first year was rocky; when a certain member left we had to strip what he’d laid down and start afresh. So it was a long winded recording, it took almost two and a half years, most albums get done in a year, but now that I’ve got Robin, Steve, Logan and Lauren I’m surrounded by people I admire and we bounce creatively off each other so it’s pleasurable. From then on I knew I was doing the right thing sticking with the project. Because the base of people were so loyal I wanted to deliver the best album we could. JP: You are working with some new band members....how did you meet? SS: Logan Sky had worked with me in Visage mark 2 when we did Here and Now tours, when we were playing the classic visage hits to between 10,000 to 40,000 people. He’s a competent keyboard player, perfect for when Visage go live. I worked with Robin Simon before on previous albums so adding the dimension of Lauren’s vocals was an added bonus, her vocals are like a fine red wine- they mature. I needed to fill the room with those I connected with and I wanted the whole band to be on the same wave length.

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JP: Do you still see Rusty, Midge etc? SS: I’m still friendly with Midge. The last time I was with Midge was at a Rewind festival in Henley two years ago. We’ve never really fallen out. Unfortunately, through musical differences, me and Rusty don’t see eye to eye. There are two sides to every story and when the time comes the story will be aired through the right mediums. JP: Do you think that the Visage concept/brand/image fits in with the current climate, and if so, who would you like to see buying the album? SS: It’s great that bands like Goldfrapp, La Roux, Little Boots and Hurts have given us amazing props and said if it wasn’t for us there wouldn’t be this pioneering sound we started in the 80s. It was nice to get that from such young people. On this album we’ve purposely not used any software or Autotune. Someone used one on me and it stripped the emotion from my voice and I sounded like a robot. The only software we used is Prologic. We wanted to encapsulate our sound, but we also wanted to bring the album to the present day and look how Visage was going to fit in with the new electro acts. To be honest, we had amazing reviews across the board, from England to France and Germany. JP: Which musical artists do you like to listen to these days? SS: I’ve always been a huge Siouxsie and the Banshees fan. I have wide taste in music; it can go from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Charade. I also like Hurts and I love the new Alison Moyet album - she is a going to be around for a long time and deserves to be. When I was reviewing the single I was blown away.

JPW: Finally, what are your top 4 songs of all time? SS: Patti Smith - Horses, Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side, Siouxsie and the Banshees - Christine, Iggy Pop - Lust for Life

V is a ge ‘Hearts and Knives’ Blitz Club Records 7/10 When I first heard that Visage were bringing a new album out without Midge Ure and Rusty Egan my heart sank, but the resulting album is surprisingly good. So Steve Strange is back, along with Lauren Duvall and new member Robin Simon, and has created an album that harks back to the original Visage sound without resorting to parody.

The majority of the tracks are geared towards the dance floor with album opener Never Enough being a highlight. It propels along on top of Moroder-esque bass lines, punchy guitar and real drums, whilst lead JP: Do you think that music and single Shameless Fashion is also one fashion can still go hand in hand or of the highlights. is it all about selling perfume these Production is mainly good and it was days? SS: I’ve definitely been reintroduced a canny decision to stick to original to the record industry by being seen analogue synthesisers and not resort as a commodity. Visage is more about to generic contemporary plug-in the visuals and videos being mini synths. This helps give the album movies, and the album artwork, and if a cohesive feel and a warmth that is I have anything to do with it it’ll stay hard to get without them. My only that way. In this climate the industry criticism would be that the vocals has changed. It’s an uphill fight to could have been produced a bit better, get those attributes included in what with more harmonies and a clearer you want to create. I’m sure they’d mix, as they tend to get a bit lost in prefer it if we were all grunge rockers, the overall mix now and again. you know, turning up in jeans and Converse and not knowing anything, Overall, a welcome return for the but I suffer for my art. I believe that’s original Club Kids. what Visage is, about the art. I never wanted us to make a video with just the band playing their instruments. 73 B E I G E

MU S I C reviews

DVD

W R I T E R : J O N PL E A S E D

B Y i a n m a cmi l l a n

teg a n And s a r a

wi l der

k a r l h y de

‘The Teardrop Explodes’ Delux Re-Issue 10/10

‘Edgeland’ Universal Records 8/10

‘Heartthrob’ Warner Bros 6/10

When Liverpool’s The Teardrop Explodes burst onto the music scene in 1980 with the heart-stopping singles Reward & Treason (It’s Just A Story) followed by the LP Kilimanjaro, which was/is better than most band’s Greatest Hits collections, it was hard to imagine how they could top it. Well, top it they did, with Wilder.

I never felt that Underworld lived up to the promise of their debut album Dubnobasswithmyheadman in 1994 up until this moment, as here we have the debut solo LP from Underworld singer Karl Hyde. It’s ambitious, widereaching and catchy and moving all in the same breath. This is a love song to his homeland Essex which avoids the naff fake-tan and nails image that it has recently been tarred with.

Tegan and Sara are a Canadian band formed in 1995 in Calgary, composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin. They are also out and proud lesbians... quite a rarity in the current crop of young artists out there in the pop stratosphere.

This re-issue comes with heaps of glorious extra tracks, featuring very rare sessions of earlier versions of some of the tracks from the BBC and for Richard Skinner. Critics and the public found its sprawling psychedelics a little hard to swallow, but for the fans it was a welcome step into uncharted waters. If you’re familiar with singer Julian Cope’s autobiography Head On then you’ll understand why it is so psychedelic. It’s hard to fathom how they got anything done with the amount of drugs they were necking. There’s no filler and it’s one of those rare ‘no-skipping–a-track’ albums. Highlights include the single Passionate Friend, quite possibly the best contender for jumping up and down on a bed and singing into a hairbrush this side of Abba’s finest moments. Pop gold and as catchy as crabs. At the other end of the spectrum are equal highlights Tiny Children and The Great Dominions...mellow, moody but magnificent nonetheless. It all sounds so effortless, it’s quite astounding. Hardcore fans will fall over themselves for the sleeve notes which discuss each track with all members of the band. W WW WW W.. B BE E II G GE EU UK K .. C CO OM M

Musically there are a variety of influences including Brian Eno, Talking Heads and Paul Simon and it definitely dips its hat to David Sylvian’s early works. This is no bad thing and the results are spectacularly sumptuous almost throughout. Hyde’s trademark stream-ofconsciousness lyrics and the sparse ethnic arrangements, embellished with emotionally drenched synths and dubbed out guitar delays, make for a woozy but fulfilling listening journey. You almost feel you’ve been on a pub crawl with a drunken prophet... Essex’s answer to Mark E Smith? The highlight and standout track is Slummin’ It For The Weekend and it’s unsurprising to find that the LP also includes a remix from Eno himself. A shining example of why the lessis-more approach is usually such a winner. It really is beautiful. Mention must go also to the visually compelling accompanying film The Outer Edges by Kieran Evans which is included in the deluxe version. Highly recommended.

Heartthrob is their seventh album and by hauling in pop producers such as Greg Kurstin, Rob Cavallo and Justin Meldal-Johnsen it is their poppiest and most chart friendly offering yet. There’s a definite 80s influence on much of the album and it brings to mind the powerpop of acts such as Belinda Carlisle, Pat Benetar and T-Pau. Highlights are singles Closer and I Was a Fool, which have skyscraping hooks that take hold and don’t let go. In fact, the hookiness gets a bit much at times and can leave you yearning for something a little less forced. It is the type of pop music that sounds like it was created in a lab and the production got a bit kitchen sinktastic to these ears. In short bursts though there is much to be admired about the songs and Heartthrob could be the album that brings the band to the public’s attention in the UK.

In 1933, Austro-Czech director Gustav Machatý shocked cinema audiences when his film Ecstasy featured Hedy Lamarr in the throes of an orgasmic rush. Since then, sex on screen has continued to generate controversy by continually pushing at the boundaries of what can be shown. Travis Matthews’ I Want Your Love has pushed farther than most, its unflinching depiction of a cast genuinely hard at it recently leading to a blanket ban at gay film festivals across Australia. Ostensibly, it’s a portrait of Jesse (Jesse Metzger), a twentysomething gay artist about to leave San Francisco to return to his hometown of Ohio. By his own admission, he’s in a rut - his “creative juices have stopped flowing,” and he’s “spent the last ten years of my life distracting myself from myself.” He has issues with his father, his mojo, his past. The story of his last few days in town is told largely through a series of conversations with close friends, all a bit unsure of themselves; adrift, trying to get their “shit together”. The cinematic palette of I Want Your Love is a kind of top-shelf Cassavetes a beautifully photographed, claustrophobic, psychological character study laced with explicit sex. Jesse’s farewell party turns into one evening-long fucking opportunity; hardcore for sure, but shot in dimly-lit amber glow as opposed to the bright glare of commercial pornography. Matthews has real directorial skill – witness the exquisitely tender flashback scene where Jesse revisits a past relationship, his reverie cut short by the incessant, nagging crackle of a vinyl record that has reached its end – but as the film reached its end, I was left unsure as to quite what it all added up to. Moodily-lit sex also features in James Cook’s Together, one of the eight international short films collected in Youth In Trouble – Peccadillo Pictures’ ninth edition of their Boys On Film series. Together is an improbable fusion of genres – gay relationship drama and horror movie – with reasonable success. Its closing

minutes are unquestionably more shocking than any of the shagging in I Want Your Love. As with all compilations, though, the quality of the work herein is variable, getting off to a patchy, lightweight start, but keep with it and there are gems to be found. The highlight is Benjamin Parent’s It’s Not a Cowboy Film, a delightful 11 minutes of smart writing and assured performance, as four youngsters in the male and female toilets of a school discuss their reaction to watching Brokeback Mountain on television the previous night. Light, funny, and subtly insightful about teenage sexuality and identity, it surely points to a bright future for Parent as a filmmaker of substance and class. In the final offering – Prora - director Stéphane Riethauser explores the first flush of a teenage sexual relationship in the bleak environment of an abandoned former Nazi holiday camp. Stylishly shot and blissfully clichéfree, it highly deserves the many festival awards it has notched up. There’s more Nazi camp in Kaspar Heidelbach’s feature Berlin ‘36, though that’s camp as in ‘watching an inept TV movie for laughs’. It’s based on a true story from the 1936 Olympics, when America threatened to boycott the games were Jewish athletes to be banned. Karoline Herfurth plays Gretel Berg, a Jewish high-jumper of considerable calibre, bound for glory. Enter Marie, a male competitor planted by the Nazi authorities to pass as female and snatch the gold medal that, by rights, should have Gretel’s name on it. The clunky, plodding nature of Berlin ‘36 is signalled early on by an actor making the worst attempt at a cockney accent since Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. It also doesn’t help that Sebastian Urzendowsky as the gender-busting Marie is a dead ringer for Harry Styles in a wartime sports vest. Controversial though it may be to say it, I longed for the artistry of Olympia, Leni Riefenstahl’s Nazisanctioned documentary, where the frequent appearances of Hitler himself provide a more chilling depiction of the 1936 games than Heidelbach’s sanitised, overlong misfire. www.peccapics.com

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specia l thanks to : wi l ton ’ s music h a l l

Grant is such a polite, courteous, almost old-fashionedly respectful man (he apologises when he stretches his legs out on the sofa and says, “I’m real sorry. Is this bothering you?”) that I half apologise myself for bringing up such a sensitive subject. He smiles reassuringly.

JOHN GRANT W R I T E R : I a n M a cmi l l a n P hotography : f a nn a r gudmundsson assistant : a dri a n l ourie

The first thing I hear John Grant say when I play back the recording of our meeting is, “That’s just the life I’ve chosen”. Stated matter-of-factly in his rich, warm voice it comes across in part like a man resigned to his lot, but also as the worldview of a born survivor. Back in 2004, Grant was the singer in The Czars, a criminally under-appreciated band that had just released by far the best album of their career. Its title – Goodbye – turned out to be frighteningly prophetic. Within months, every member had quit, leaving Grant alone, recovering from years of severe alcohol and drug abuse, and walking away from music altogether. It took six years before he returned with the striking Queen of Denmark, a universally-lauded, word of mouth hit in thrall to the 70s soft rock sound of bands such as Supertramp. “I’ve been a very slow learner and very, very slow to open up to the possibility of being a songwriter and expressing my voice - I guess maybe because I wasn’t sure what my voice was or what I wanted to say,” Grant explains of the hiatus in his career. With his exceptional new album Pale Green Ghosts, he seems finally to have made the record he’s always dreamed of – pairing his raw, confessional songwriting with a sonic palette of electronic pulses and beats. Yet it’s a shift in his music that seemed to take many by surprise. “I didn’t expect people to know, especially from listening to The Czars, or even to Queen Of Denmark, that the ‘80s was my favourite time for music. And that my love for electronic W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

music is based in the 80s and that’s what I love the most, those synth sounds. I can’t get enough of them, and to this day I’m still listening to that music – Cabaret Voltaire, and Skinny Puppy.” Heavily bearded, soberly dressed head to toe in black with just a vibrant flash of colour on his trainers, Grant wouldn’t look out of place at an Industrial Music convention, but nor would he look out of place in a bear bar. I wondered if his current record (which frequently sounds like an improbable marriage of The Carpenters and early Human League) hadn’t thrown people partly because, to this day, there’s a blinkered perception of the kind of music an openly gay artist might make? “Absolutely. We do compartmentalise - gay men do this and gay men don’t do that. Gay men don’t listen to Pink Floyd - they listen to Sylvester. That’s true.” Growing up in the Bible Belt heartlands of Michigan and Denver, Grant’s brothers “listened to Nazareth and Kiss, and Van Halen and Aerosmith, and I felt I wasn’t allowed to because I wasn’t a ‘real man’ like they were.” Though, he adds with wide eyes and a grin, “My love for Abba, I couldn’t hide that. And anybody who didn’t think they were great … I couldn’t understand how they couldn’t think they were absolutely amazing.” One thing he shares with the Swedish masters of pop melancholy, particularly their later, brilliant, post-divorce music, is a deft sleight-of-hand that seamlessly wraps heartbreak in a balmy blanket of gorgeous melody. But lyrically, Grant’s songs leave nowhere to hide, detailing with absolute candour his insecurities, fuck-ups and – most crucially – the painful, bitter breakup of the most significant relationship of his life. When, before our conversation,

relationship in his life he has yet to really reconcile. “I was talking to someone recently who suggested that maybe I was being intolerant of my father in a way that I didn’t want him to be with me. And now that I am an adult …” He pauses for quite some time. “You are responsible for your life, right, and it doesn’t matter what happened any more. It doesn’t matter who loved you, who didn’t, because some of those people are gone, some are dead, and you have to figure out a way to enjoy your life and do what you want to do, and figure out how to love and allow yourself to be loved. The fact that he doesn’t approve of my lifestyle, that he doesn’t approve of me being gay, the fact that I don’t know what the hell to talk to him about… I do get very angry about my relationship with him because it does feel frustrating. And a lot of times I’m too angry to even want to make an effort. And a lot of times I think I don’t even know what happened in my childhood. That’s just a huge blank. My parents just wanted me to be a good Christian and to go and spread the word out in the world and it seems like I’m a huge disappointment to them, and that makes me angry as well.”

his publicist tells me “John seems to regard interviews as therapy,” my first thought is – hang on a minute, what about the songs? “You write about what you know about,” is his typically frank explanation. “If you’re going to write good music you write about what you really connect to. And what I really connect to is this thing about love, this inability to love. Or to allow myself to be loved, y’know? That’s a huge deal for me and I think about it a lot and it’s just natural. I become self-conscious about it at times because people are constantly saying to me, ‘Don’t you think you… shouldn’t you… what if… isn’t this too personal?’ But I don’t understand how else I should do it. When I’m writing a song it’s not an option for me to leave something out if it’s what I feel.” On Queen of Denmark’s acerbic JC Hates Faggots, Grant couldn’t be more upfront about his oppressive, conservative upbringing. ‘Can’t believe that I considered taking my own life’, he croons, ‘’Cos I believed the lies about me were the truth.’ Decades on, he remains furious. “There’s still so much homophobia and so much hatred for homosexuals. It hasn’t changed as much as it needs to and as much as people think it has. I grew up being told you didn’t do this sort of thing, you didn’t suck another man’s cock. That’s what perverts do, who are going to go to Hell in a hand basket. And that’s the good news, you know? The bad news is that you can’t be part of this society either.” Listening to it, as with many of Grant’s songs, can at heart be an uncomfortable experience. The ‘mastermind of lies’ in the track - who proclaims that Jesus hates ‘faggots, weaklings, cowards and bull dykes’ - is in fact his own father. It strikes me that this is another

“This is the easy part, this is what I do best. I’m good at talking to people. I enjoy it. But it’s hard for me on a day like today.” He has just flown in from his current home in Iceland for an important concert that will soon be broadcast worldwide across the internet. “I can’t have any weirdness around me. I get really freaked out… getting out of the plane, being at the airport, people being late, not being able to find your room at the hotel because it’s in another fucking labyrinth… and then it’s like ‘Get on stage. Do it. We’ve only got an hour.’ I really find that difficult. And I get angry. And I even get emotional because I feel overwhelmed. And who the fuck knows what’s going on in my head at any given moment of the day? I’m taking medications for HIV, I’ve been on the same fucking antidepressant for 20 years, and I don’t think it even helps me any more. I continue to take it because I don’t really have time to get off of it because of the side effects. And it’s like, ‘Emote now.’ And I just can’t, because I need to inhabit these songs. I find it hard…” That evening, Grant is mid way through a staggering rendition of the final track on his new album, Glacier – “the song I wish I had heard when I was a teenager” he has called it. It’s a rallying cry for survival: ‘This pain, it is a glacier moving through you”, goes the chorus, ‘but don’t you become paralysed with fear when things get particularly rough.’ It starts mournfully, like a great, lost Harry Nilsson ballad, and builds to mountainous piano chords that Liberace would have been proud of. Sitting in the front row, as it reaches a climax, I can see John Grant lost in thought, almost burying himself, transfixed, in the music around him. “It is very weird, to totally inhabit those songs and bringing that across in the moment,” he’d told me earlier. “I feel if I sing well that’s the most important thing, so that people have something nice to listen to. While they’re watching that freak break down on stage… at least they have that.” johngrantmusic.com

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LE GRIND P hotography : G ozrA l oz a no groo m ing : c h ristine b a tem a n a nd me l sz a bo

Le Grind are the latest three-piece ensemble (Boo, Gareth and Reyna) to break on to the London music scene. Their first single I Was There, (Where Were You?) will be released shortly, we caught up with them to find out what makes them grind. Where did you meet? The disco stars aligned on the dancefloor of some dirty club we found ourselves in in NYC... Others may have thought something was going on with the PA, but it turned out to be Reyna’s belting pipes jumping above the track. How would you describe the group dynamic? We guess we’re most like a permanent version of the Pet Shop Boys ft. Dusty Springfield; a beautiful soul vocal being held up by a couple of unlikely disco queens. What inspires your music? We come from very different musical places, but we all share a passion for groove and funk. What totally dominates our music is a sense of ease and a desire to make stuff that we actually love. We’re not following a particular blueprint, or chasing a specific sound - if it makes us dance, it stays. What’s next for you guys? More songs - an album... we’d love to be performing at festivals and other kick ass venues. We’d also love to eventually collaborate with other artists and add different styles to our repertoire.

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Q U E E N S I N H I ST O RY: DIVINE W R I T E R : ste p h en brog a n

Divine was THE drag queen of the twentieth century. Weighing 300 pounds, with eyebrows shaved off and her hairline shaved back in order to provide more room for the garish makeup she applied with a stencil, she was an unforgettable sight. Especially once she was poured into a tight, sexy dress and started striking her outrageous modelling poses. She was obsessed with two of the twentieth century’s most glamorous actresses, Jayne Mansfield and Liz Taylor. Indeed, during an interview for Smash Hits in the 1980s Divine said she had always wanted to look like Liz, but that now she was delighted because the rotund Liz looked like her!

Divine was the alter ego of Harris Glenn Milstead (1945-88), who from the late 1960s starred in the transgressive cult films of director John Waters (born in 1946). Both men had grown up in middle class families in Baltimore, Maryland, where they still lived. They were obsessed with the films of Russ Meyer, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Frederico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman. Waters soon began making films and writing parts for Divine. Her two most outrageous and memorable roles were Babs Johnson in Pink Flamingos (1972) and Dawn Davenport in Female Trouble (1974). In both films Divine plays a trashy criminal. Babs Johnson lives incognito in a mobile home with her degenerate family, but ends up murdering Raymond and Connie Marbles, the usurpers who vie for her title ‘the filthiest person alive’. Dawn Davenport is a career criminal and single mother who falls under the spell of Donald and Donna Dasher, a voyeuristic married couple who own the Lipstick Beauty Salon. Dawn is egged on to murder her daughter, after which she views her own execution in the electric chair as being equivalent to an Oscar. Divine found further success onstage, most notably when she performed with The Cockettes, and then in two plays, a lesbian prison drama called Women Behind Bars (1975), and The Neon Woman (1978), a murder-mystery set in a Baltimore burlesque club. In the early 1980s Divine embarked on her musical career, having a series of international Hi-NRG punk rock disco hits, especially Native Love, and Shake It Up. In 1988 Waters made a bid for more mainstream success with his film Hairspray, in which Divine played Edna Turnblad, the frumpy mother of Tracy Turnblad, played by Ricki Lake. The film is set in Baltimore during the 1960s and is a plea for racial integration, and it ended up being very successful indeed. Tragically Divine died of an enlarged heart just three weeks after Hairspray’s release. There is no doubt that further success was within her grasp, albeit in more conventional roles than those of her early career. At last, a documentary has been made about Divine’s amazing life. Entitled I Am Divine, it is a sensitive and well researched film directed by Jeffrey Schwarz. He has already made award winning documentaries on the 1970s adult film star Jack Wrangler, and the Hollywood showman William Castle. His documentary on Divine had its British premiere in London in May at The Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, where I caught up with Jeffrey.

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“It’s kind of the ultimate ‘it gets better’ story and he’s a poster child for misfit youth.”

Stephen Brogan: Your film foregrounds Divine’s startling originality as well as the motives that drove her to perform. Let’s start with her uniqueness. The actress Mink Stole worked with Divine from the early days, and in your film she points out that there were no precedents for the types of characters that Divine played. There is no one quite like Babs Johnson or Dawn Davenport, and both roles were physically and mentally demanding. In order to prove she is the filthiest person alive, at the end of Pink Flamingos we have a non sequitur in which Babs Johnson famously eats a real dog turd that has just been excreted. Dawn Davenport’s nightclub show involves a wild trampoline act, a feat Divine rehearsed endlessly for, while towards the end of the film Dawn swims across a freezing river in full drag in order to try and escape the cops. These were not easy roles. Yet Divine’s commitment to them was phenomenal. Jeffrey Schwarz: Yes, this is partly to do with Divine’s own incredible talent and vision, and partly due to having such good people around her who brought out the best in her. In the early days Divine was the star of the Dreamlanders, the cast and crew who were involved with all Waters’ films. She was mentored by John Waters and David Lochary, the hairdresser and actor. They helped Divine create her character. Van Smith worked on the makeup and appearance, including costumes, and Vincent Peranio who makes sets and art directs, was influential too. They were all very creative and very driven. SB: Your film is very sensitive concerning the actor behind Divine and you explain what drove her and Waters and the Dreamlanders. JS: Yes, they all started out in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a time of rebellion and counterculture, and they were all young and out to shock. They were punks before punk rock happened. SB: Waters says in your film that he recognised early on that Divine had a lot of rage underneath the surface and that he needed to harness this and parlay it into his roles? JS: Yes, Divine was badly bullied throughout her school years as she was fat, effeminate and gay. She was very badly bullied. She didn’t have any friends or go out socially until she was sixteen. Then she met Waters and all that changed very quickly! But you can’t airbrush away all the stress and trauma of teenage bullying. SB: It’s interesting though, that as a fat femme queen, it might be thought that Divine would have to be a clown who used self-deprecating humour. But she wasn’t and she didn’t. As a character Divine was incredibly strong, and in her own way, sexy. JS: Yes, she put the bullying behind her, while at the same time channelling her rage into her characters. She played very anarchic roles, both in terms of her appearance and her behaviour. And she accepted her faults and used them to her advantage. That’s one of the secrets of stardom! In the same way, she was never hindered by a lack of money. She would get dressed up and go to a premiere or a fancy party, with no money in her purse, and be photographed with Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, Grace Jones, Rudolf Nureyev. SB: Very inspiring! So the celebrities and disco people were meeting the character Divine, as opposed to the actor Harris Glenn Milstead? JS: Exactly. Though in Divine’s mind, the two were not really blurred. Out of drag Divine could be shy and vulnerable, dressed up she was shocking and brazen. When she appeared in public in full drag it was to promote herself.

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If she was asked to be interviewed on television to discuss her roles, then she appeared as a man. He said he was an actor who played female roles. If she was badgered to appear in full regalia, she still said no, explaining that Liz Taylor didn’t do interviews dressed as Cleopatra! SB: Turning to your excellent film, it’s clearly been a labour of love. JS: Yes. It was important to get John Waters’ blessing. Without that, I couldn’t make the film. He gave me his blessing and even made calls to people, encouraging them to co-operate with me. SB: That’s wonderful. So what motivated you to make this film now, and who is its core audience? JS: There’s a lack of gay role models right now. We have some, but they tend to be mainstream. The It Gets Better campaign proves that it can still be very hard to be accepted as gay, and to accept yourself as gay. Divine is such a wonderful role model, I want her to become really well known amongst younger people. Sure, she had her addictions – food, marijuana – but she lived her own life and didn’t conform to stereotypes. SB: Hey GQ man, here I stand, for everyone to see, and if I’m not your type, well that’s all right, cuz it don’t matter to me! (Gentle reader, these are some lyrics from Divine’s disco hit Native Love). JS: Ha! Exactly. The film’s core audience is LGBT, but we showed at The South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in San Francisco too, which is fairly mainstream. Divine didn’t limit herself to the gay world, so she would have wanted as many people as possible to see the film. SB: That’s great. If you don’t mind me saying, two things surprised me about your film. One is that although Divine spent a lot of time in London, her London family aren’t mentioned. The other is that you don’t show her eating the dog turd!! JS: Logistics didn’t allow us to interview Divine’s London family, which is a shame. Although the photographer Robyn Beeche lived in London during the years that Divine was a frequent visitor, and she let us use about twenty of her photographs. As for the dog shit, I was asked by John Waters not to show that scene as that way it remains unique to Pink Flamingos. SB: I see. That makes sense. Lastly, what does making this film mean to you personally? JS: As a teenager Divine was bullied mercilessly. When she met John Waters she was able to take all that trauma and channel it into the Divine character, and throw everything that people made fun of her for back in their faces. With all the talk of bullying today I wanted to show young people an example of someone who was able to overcome all that and live an authentic and happy life by accepting and loving herself. Her story can give people hope that anything’s possible. It’s kind of the ultimate ‘it gets better’ story and he’s a poster child for misfit youth. SB: Amen! For future screenings: www.facebook.com/DivineMovie

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m ichae l costi f f : pages f ro m a diary W R I T E R : S T E PH E N B R O G A N

Michael and Gerlinde’s World: Pages From a Diary is a compelling visual memoir, put together by fashion entrepreneur Michael Costiff and published independently by Kim Jones, menswear designer at Louis Vuitton. Michael met his late wife Gerlinde in 1969, under the Coca Cola sign at Piccadilly Circus, London. It was love at first sight. Michael, originally from the Peak District, worked in the trendy boutique I Was Lord Kitchener’s Valet, while Gerlinde hailed from Regensburg in Bavaria and worked for a posh wine company. They went on to become one of London’s trendiest couples. In the 1970s they ran the Terrace Café in the Chelsea Antique Market, where Marc Bolan, Thin Lizzy, and Quentin Crisp were regulars, and they sold jewellery in Antiquarius. In the 80s they opened their West End shop, World, and then in 1989 they launched their nightclub, Kinky Gerlinky, surely the most flamboyant party night that modern London has seen. They also travelled widely, often buying clothes to sell in their shop, and they hung out with everyone from the drag queen extraordinaire Divine, to punk rock superstar Jordan, to 1980s nightlife colossus Leigh Bowery. W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

Before they met, Gerlinde had always kept a diary, while Michael enjoyed compiling scrap books. From the early 1970s they joined forces and began keeping A4 diaries that they filled with photographs, club fliers, leaflets, magazine clippings and posters. Some of the pages feature collage, giving them a postmodern feel. Michael’s new book is an edited version of these scrapbooks cum diaries, a highly personal visual record of the colourful, urban life that he shared with Gerlinde until her tragic and untimely death in 1994. The book’s 308 pages reveal much about the art, fashion and nightlife scenes of London, New York, Tokyo and Rio from the 1970s onwards.

album, at the abandoned East India Docks, Wapping. For the Witches’ Song a number of dream-like characters dance around a bonfire, including Michael, dressed as a masked cardinal, and Gerlinde, who appears as an androgynous ecclesiastic with blue hair. The wonderful contrast of the bleak landscape with the decadent figures climaxes with the teenage gender bender Marilyn being ravished by the artist Dave Baby on a pile of huge anchor chains.

Before discussing some of the book’s highlights, I should declare my bias. In the late 1980s I was fairly new to London, a fledgling avant-garde (a clue) drag queen going by the name of Stella Stein. The Costiffs took me under their wing and invited me to perform at Kinky Gerlinky, and so I became part of the Kinky family along with DJs Martin Confusion, Rachel Auburn and Princess Julia, and good time gals Sheila Tequila, Tasty Tim, Polly, Dean Bright, David Cabaret, Dareena, Winston, Roy, The Pleased Wimmin, David Lolah Holah and Les Child. For five years we partied hard in London and Europe, leading a wild, surreal existence. Dressed up to the nines and fuelled on neat vodka and Gerlinde’s legendary dope cake, we would have made Fellini beam with approval. Sometimes our outrageous behaviour even caused ourselves to worry. After dancing all night at the Pussycat Club in Milan, some of us then went on to an after-hours bar where we were all given ecstasy. I rolled back into the hotel around midday, just in time to pack and get the train to Bologna. Gerlinde gave me a hug as well as some wise advice, saying “Darling, you’re so outrageous when you’re drunk and dancing! It’s fantastic. But girlfriend, you must remember, life is a marathon not a sprint!”

The mid-1980s London scene that centred on Bowery’s infamous club Taboo is well represented. A striking photograph of Bowery’s friend and muse Trojan, who described himself with Ortonesque candour as an ‘artist and prostitute’, is placed opposite another image of Trojan and Bowery with their flat mate David Walls. In both photographs all three are attired in Bowery’s A Paki From Outer Space collection of 1984. Featuring blue faces and purple crushed velvet coats, ponchos and skirts, these images depict the exciting early days of Bowery’s postpunk reworking of glitter rock fashion. Don’t forget, at this time all the trendies dressed down in ripped denim, Hard Times being the uniform of the day. Further on we have a photograph cut out of a magazine of Bowery and Marc Vaultier standing outside Taboo. Vaultier was the club’s charismatic door whore, and is shown here teetering in women’s platform sandals, wearing a long, bright yellow wig, his lean frame clad in a silver mini dress and matching hippy hat. He is holding up a cocktail, looking coquettishly to the left. It is a remarkably strong look, sort of New York Dolls meets Pippi Longstocking. Bowery works his drippy head look, with one of his own denim jackets, a pleated mini skirt, bare legs, knee socks and pimp shoes. Vaultier appears extremely comfortable in his look, which flows; this is less true of Bowery: by comparison his aesthetic is a bit awkward and jarred.

Returning to the book, a number of images jump out as especially captivating. There are two pages of photographs taken in 1979 during the filming of Derek Jarman’s promotional film for Marianne Faithful’s Broken English

And then there are the photographs of Michael and Gerlinde. My favourites show them in their jewellery shop in Antiquarius in 1979, Gerlinde resplendent in an off the shoulder gown with her hair cut in a fringe. On the opposite

page we see them headed off to a swanky birthday party in 1994, Gerlinde clad in Westwood leopard print. Gerlinde was beautiful and effervescent, qualities that really shine through in these photographs. As this book contains images of punks, fashionistas, demimondaines, drag queens and cute boys, it should have a relatively broad appeal. It has a brief commentary at the end by journalist James Anderson as well as a useful index of who is featured on every page, with locations and dates. Michael says the book’s message is: “Make your own world and your own good time, you don’t need lots of money. And don’t worry about the mainstream. The underground is far more exciting!” Nowadays rebellion is commodified to an unprecedented extent, and so the book also says implicitly to people ‘create your own style and don’t be too influenced by the markets, be they mainstream or alternative’. Michael points out that his book does not contain any politics or social commentary, but explains that he has “always been aware of what’s going on [in the wider world] but you can’t really do anything about that.” Hence his preference for subculture, where he says he can “influence things closer to home by enthusiasm and example.” Thus the book is a refreshing reminder of the appeal of fantasy and escapism, two joyous pastimes celebrated at Kinky Gerlinky. It is true that the book has its bittersweet moments as so many people in it are no longer alive and are sorely missed. But it is not a mournful book, it is celebratory. And sometimes the celebrations were extreme. Martin Confusion reminded me recently that at the end of each Kinky Gerlinky many people looked like they had been dragged through a hedge backwards. In a humorous touch, the book’s final photograph is of Dareena, one of the Kinky Girls, wearing full showgirl drag, collapsed unconscious on the stairs. Michael and Gerlinde’s World: Pages From a Diary Slow Loris Publishing £40.00. 85 B E I G E

keep yo u r ti m ber l i m ber W R I T E R : a l ex h o p kins

Sarah McCrory is slightly nervous. She’s anticipating the public’s reaction to the latest exhibition she’s curated. “The thing is there’s a lot of cock in it,” she laughs. “Some really quite extreme, veiny cocks and lots of unusual foreskins going on. Oh, and some very large balls too. I think it might ruffle some feathers.” The exhibtion in question, Keep Your Timber Limber (Works on Paper) opens at the ICA this month and explores how artists, since the 1940s, have used drawing to explore the critical ideas of their time and challenge social, political or stylistic conventions. “We’re not setting out to be controversial,” adds McCrory, “but then sometimes it’s easy when you’re in close proximity to this world to forget that some people may be offended, but there really shouldn’t be anything shocking about seeing a penis.” The show will bring together the work of eight artists including Tom of Finland, Antonio Lopez and Marlene McCarty. For McCrory, putting this together has been a labour of love. “I’m showing the work because I love it, but also because it’s fantastic, beautiful work in its own right and there will be connections and frictions between the artists. “All the people included are very skilled and the works are often making political points through something of beauty, which is actually quite a bold gesture or statement. With Tom Of Finland, for example, you have these incredible hand drawn pieces showing guys having sex. He was one of the first people to show gay men having sex and not being ashamed of it. He depicted it in a healthy and happy way, which empowers people.” It’s the subtle ‘nod and wink’ that such works send out that appeals to McCrory - a humorous lightness of touch through which the artists discuss pertinent cultural and political ideas. The exhibition’s title is taken from a work by Judith Bernstein, an artist whose concerns are very different from Tom of Finland’s, but whose drawings are similarly eloquent. “Bernstein is all about critiquing men’s power,” explains McCroy. “She’s a feminist and is very actively looking at the history of conflict and how that comes out through certain kinds of machismo. “What I find particularly interesting is that while some artists, like Tom Of Finland, represent something that has changed a lot, like gay culture, others such as Bernstein show us things that haven’t moved along at all. Bernstein is making a very large wall drawing for us which updates an older piece about war. She’s adding the horrifying statistics of recent wars, thereby revealing that little has changed. Indeed, as nations become richer the collateral damage of war is only multiplied.”

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All of the artists selected came to McCrory in different ways, some from chance meetings and others from her interests. “There’s something about pen on paper that has an extraordinary immediacy and urgency and I think how people respond to that will be interesting. Another artist featured, Mike Kuchar, produces drawings that are essentially cartooned. They’re commercially produced graphic drawings of guys who are sailors or neanderthals. “Margaret Harrison, who produced work in the 1970s, focused on regendered super heros, for example, a Captain America wearing a basque and high heels. She’s looking at how these figures encapsulated male power and how men were supposed to save us. Again, there’s this wonderful, joyful humour running through her work and a commentary that is still very relevant today.” In this internet dependent age, where so much contemporary art relies upon TV and video, McCrory is conscious that works on paper are often deemed to be quite a conservative method. She hopes, however, that bringing these artists together will reaffirm how potent making a statement with ink can be. And as for the possibility of extreme reactions, well, it’s nothing that hasn’t happened before, smiles McCrory. “I think sometimes with shows like this you can be worried about negative responses and then they just don’t happen. Having said that some of the artists in the show have experienced bad reactions to work they’ve shown in the past - it’s been stolen or taken out of shows or their shows have been closed down. Hopefully this won’t happen now. I think a contemporary response to some fairly graphic or erotic work is going to be very interesting. We’ll just have to wait and see.” 19 June - 8 September 2013 The ICA London www.ica.org.uk 01 TOM OF FINLAND UNTITLED 02 GEORGE GROSZ STICKMEN MEETING MEMBERS OF THE BOURGEOUIS 1946 03 ANTONIO LOPEZ G I N N A V E R S A C E C A M PA I G N 1 9 8 4 04 MIKE KUCHAR MYTH MAN 1980-1990 05 CARY KWOK MUSCLE TOSS 2010

D R I V E N T O S TA R D O M

I A N AY R E S W R I T E R : T I N A HALL

Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from? What were you like as a child?

The word thing started when I was seven. Mom used to have me rub lotion on her back and, using my finger, write words that she’d guess. That’s the closest I got to anyone as a child. Always the new kid in school, I never learned how to make friends or socialise. My imagination became my refuge and led to me writing poetry in houses of ill fame when I hit puberty. The brothels were called massage parlors and the prostitutes, masseuses. One of the parlour girls introduced me to expressing myself through words in a notebook. I think she wanted to distract me from my mother acting like she had the hots for men who smelled of mothballs. W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

Did you enjoy having the chance to talk to all the people you did while filming Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom? When we arrived for each interview, I swear my heart tried to break out of its ribcage. Fears of rejection are often difficult for me. But everyone we interviewed turned out to be very sensitive and caring. They made us feel right at home. I feel a great affection for everyone I’ve interviewed.

How did you first become involved in film? After I gave up on becoming the next James Dean, I wanted to devote my life to reading and writing poems. Then, in 1999, a filmmaker named Eric Ellena talked me into being a founder of French Connection Films with him. I didn’t mind the production side of things as long as it didn’t interfere with my poetry. Then I talked Eric into starting a press for a poetry anthology series I titled Van Gogh’s Ear. Next I got the idea for a celebrity edition of Van Gogh’s Ear and asked every celebrity I could to contribute. An assistant to the legendary Tony Curtis responded with a request that I telephone. He said Tony would gladly contribute to this special edition of the anthology series and he suggested I do a documentary on Tony and his wife, Jill, because they saved horses from slaughter. But Tony opened up about his childhood and fascinating life. I figured that would make an interesting bonus for The Jill & Tony Curtis Story DVD. Deep down, however, I knew it might end up being another documentary. It did. Now I don’t know if I’ll ever escape filmmaking. My poetry’s been on hold ever since that second documentary. What was it like to see Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom premiere at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival? Tony had died and I didn’t have time to grieve. During his last time in Paris I kept asking him to walk for the cameras because, when we met, he confided his desire for recognition from the Academy Awards, though feared he’d be in a wheelchair to accept his Oscar. The very last thing he said to me in Paris was due, I think, to my

John Gilmore is in your new film and I understand he recently did two very long interviews with you (one dealing, of course, with the upcoming documentary on Marilyn Monroe) John was most kind and patient during the interviews, especially the recent one about Marilyn Monroe. I felt as if Marilyn were right there with us. Too many coincidences to be coincidence. She was there. Why do you think Gilmore’s work is so appealing? Are you looking forward to reading his latest work, On the Run with Bonnie and Clyde, as much as I am? John Gilmore shares that certain something that James Dean had, something otherworldly and magical. He does more than write books, he creates experiences that bring you to the core of the human condition and grip every fibre of your being. I’ve just received my copy of On the Run with Bonnie and Clyde. I know it’ll be more than a book – it’ll blow you away like machine gun bullets. What projects are you currently working on? photograph : E ric . J k l ein

Born in Los Angeles and my life began in a travelling carnival where my father owned a shooting gallery. I had a terrible fear of being forgotten because my parents used to leave me locked up inside the cabin of the shooting gallery truck. At four my parents divorced. In the custody of my mother, I spent my childhood packing up boxes and unpacking them several times a year due to her crazy love life.

After our first parlour opened, I read a book about Marilyn Monroe and ran away to Hollywood to become a movie star. I was discovered by a director who offered me the lead role in a movie called The Greek Connection and I got the hell out of Hollywood as soon as I learned it was some kind of sex film.

asking him to keep getting out of that dreaded wheelchair for his public appearances. I’m not sure if he was angry or joking but, after an exhausting appearance among his paintings at an art gallery for news cameras, he got back into his wheelchair, looked up at me and asked, “What are you going to have me do next — porn?” Feelings hurt, I said, “Yes. And you will be the star. You’re my favourite star.” Instead of a porno, I began interviewing people who knew Tony throughout his life. I’d begun making the film before he died. I wanted him to be at the premiere.

photograph : jeffre y. m grossi

Most recently Ian directed Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom. Featuring interviews with people who knew Curtis well (Mamie Van Doren, John Gilmore, Hugh Hefner, Harry Belafonte and a great many more) along with film extracts, archive footage and rare photos that highlight his life and career, it gives fans a respectful glimpse into what made Tony Curtis a legend of the silver screen.

Soon after my fifteenth birthday my mother introduced me to the world of drugs through what she called her “diet pills.” Wired on amphetamines I’d serve coffee to men waiting their turn to be with her up the winding staircase of our latest apartment. She had diverted clientele from where she worked in order to earn enough to open a massage parlour of her own.

photograph : E ric E LL É N A

Ian Ayres is stunningly honest about his perverse early life in a gutsy memoir called Private Parts: The Early Works of Ian Ayres. Best known as a filmmaker, he covers a wide array of projects with clarity and taste. Ian is currently directing What Ever Happened to Norma Jeane? the ultimate movie about Marilyn Monroe.

During interviews for the Tony Curtis film, people kept sharing unknown things about Marilyn. So I decided to make a bonus called All About Marilyn, but found the most insightful stuff could only be cut down to 33 minutes. Then I realised Marilyn mattered too much to me to be a mere bonus. So now I’m in the process of making the documentary on her that I’d always hoped someone would make. It’s a respectful, loving one that’s feature length! There is so much more to Marilyn Monroe than any documentary has ever brought to life. Marilyn Monroe was a great artist. Many consider her a genius who, through this film, will finally be shown the respect she definitely deserves. She has my respect. That’s for sure! What matters most to me, however, is love. It takes a lot of guts to love, but totally makes life worth living. The rest is silence. www.frenchcx.com/press/private-parts-the-earlyworks-of-ian-ayres/

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Martin Green: Why the move up west? Fred Mann: I’d been in the east end for 12 years, having run a gallery on Hackney Road before the Vyner Street premises. At the height of success in that area, there were 12 galleries, all exhibiting high quality international work. Critics, collectors and dealers came from around the world to the depths of Hackney. Then, over the last few years and since the recession, galleries closed and many relocated, so the area became less of a critical hub. Although we loved our vast space, we felt our artists’ work was not getting the exposure it deserved. We decided to run a more accessible space in central London. Being only two minutes from Oxford Circus, we are encouraging people to drop by whenever they

are in the West End, making it less formal. We also opted for a smaller, shop like space, which is less intimidating for viewers to come in and new artists to exhibit. It’s an attempt to create a friendlier atmosphere where people feel at ease entering and asking questions. MG: How do you decide which artists to exhibit? FM: Traditionally I’ve always worked with a large number of women artists, as I have a reputation for bringing work into the gallery which has been unseen in the UK. Many artists are international, coming from America, Germany and France. Most recently we have been working with some exciting artists based in Africa. We have eight solo exhibitions featuring work from South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. MG: Do you exhibit work by many gay artists? FM: Even though I’m a gay man, I’ve never gone out of my way to find gay artists. I’ve always tried to look for the best artwork I can find. On occasion I have curated exhibitions which are about sexuality and political identity and these have included many gay artists including Naylond Blake, from San Francisco, who I’ve worked with since 1995. Last year I curated a show called ‘New Queer Photography’,

G era l dine S wayne : untit l ed , 2 0 1 3

photography : G a r y moore

W R I T E R : m a rtin green

G era l dine S wayne : P a sso l ini , S cene from S a l o , 2 0 1 3

G era l dine S wayne : R ent B o y, W h ite H a ir , 2 0 1 3

FRED MANN

Big strapping bear Fred Mann has gone up west. He closed his successful Vyner Street gallery in April 2012, along with many other dealers, departing Hackney for Fitzrovian fortunes. His latest cave of culture is tucked away just north of Oxford Street, in that fledgling new art enclave.

featuring the work of 12 international gay male artists. I prefer to exhibit work from brilliant artists, who happen to be gay.

Soho and Fitzrovia in any week. They are in close proximity to each other, so within a 15 minute walk you can encounter some very interesting work.

MG: Your move to the new gallery was prompted by recession. Has this affected the Art world? FM: There’s a lot less risk taking. Most galleries take ‘a flight to quality,’ which means they return to traditional ideas about painting and sculpture, because whatever happens in the global markets there will always be interest in that kind of work. This conformity tends to marginalise both younger artists and controversial avant-garde artists, so we see less work about identity, gender and sexuality. Yet I also think the recession can be a time for people to show more radical work, as they did in the early 80s and 90s, when many young artists exhibited and worked in disused warehouses. Unfortunately, apart from Pop-up shops, it’s difficult to find affordable premises as the large industrial spaces are now all occupied, making it tougher for up and coming artists to produce and display work.

We are also part of Fitzrovian Lates, a weekly event in which galleries in the vicinity open till 9pm.

MG: Your gallery is located in the newest art area. Is this move proving to be successful? FM: There are now a large amount of galleries in the area. You can see 20 - 30 really good shows between

The area has a warm, less intimidating feeling to it, which is certainly what we are aiming to achieve with our new space. So in terms of bringing more attention to the work of contemporary artists, yes, it is proving to be successful. Fred Mann is a busy man. His next exhibition is of new paintings by Geraldine Swayne. He is also a successful DJ, playing Northern Soul, Old Skool Soul, Funk and Rare Groove rarities to musically discerning gay friendly audiences at his monthly ‘Funk and Ride’ club at Buffalo Bar in Highbury. Fred Gallery 17 Riding House Street London W1W 7DS www.fred-london.com

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B E I G E O N S TA G E writer : M A R T I N G R E E N

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre 25 July - 7 September

Rachel Kavanaugh’s new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic opens at the wonderful Open Air Theatre. Incredibly, after a long succession of summer shows, it’s only the first time that one of the legendary writing team’s musicals has been staged here. The enchanting qualities of the outdoor space will perfectly match the captivating melodies which are so much a part of our musical history. But, after so many parodies, kitsch interpretations and singalong shows, we can easily forget how brilliantly written this piece is, and behind the sweet songs and children’s nursery rhymes lies a true and serious story of a family fleeing the horrors of Nazi occupation. openairtheatre.com

Old Vic Theatre 1 June - 31 August

P R I V AT E L I V E S Gielgud Theatre 22 June – 21 September

Kim Cattrall stars in the classic Tennessee Williams play as a fading Hollywood legend ravaged by the bitterness of failure and despair. Olivier award winning Marrianne Elliot directs the story of actress Alexandra Del Lago, who flees tinseltown, incognito as Princess Kosmonopolis, following the disastrous première of her comeback film. She seeks refuge in drink, drugs and the arms of Chance Wayne, an idealistic young dreamer turned gigolo, who’s hell-bent on achieving his own movie stardom. Their trip to Chance’s home town sees their relationship of convenience unravel as the hustler has designs on his childhood sweetheart, Heavenly Finley. The acclaimed young Broadway actor Seth Numrich is cast opposite Cattrall, whose interpretation of the tortured star promises to be an explosive and unmissable performance. oldvictheatre.com

The Chichester Festival Theatre’s production of Noel Coward’s classic transfers to the West End. The exquisite combination of Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor reprise their roles of Elyot Chase and Amanda Prynne in the sparkling romantic comedy. They are rich, reckless and divorced. When they meet up after five years of separation, their love for one another is unexpectedly rekindled. The problem is they are honeymooning with their new spouses. During this Rivera encounter they fling themselves headlong into a whirlwind of love and lust, without a thought for new partners or their turbulent past. The production is directed by Jonathan Kent, whose recent hit Sweeney Todd also transferred from Chichester following a successful run. delfontmackintosh.co.uk

C HA R L I E A N D T H E C H O C O LA T E F A C T O R Y Theatre Royal Drury Lane From 25 June Following the successful interpretation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda comes the eagerly awaited musical adaptation of his much loved classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As the production is directed by Oscar winning Sam Mendes expectations are exceptionally high. Mendes is renowned for depicting the darker aspects of his subject matter, which could be clearly seen in his versions of Cabaret, Company and Oliver! The show has a book by David Greig, featuring songs from the original movie, and new compositions from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, whose credits include the Tony Award-winning Hairspray. The mysterious Willy Wonka is played by Douglas Hodge, whose recent lead performance in La Cage Aux Folles displayed his flair for outrageousness and vulnerability, traits which perfectly suit Wonka’s flamboyant, bizarre and enigmatic character. drurylanetheatrelondon.com

T H E C O L O R P U R PL E Menier Chocolate Factory 5 July - 14 September Tony award winning John Doyle, who recently staged Sondheim’s Road Show at the Menier Choclate Factory, returns to direct and design this new musical, adapted from Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel about triumph over adversity. This stirring family drama, set in rural Georgia, chronicles the inspirational life of Celie, as she journeys from childhood through joy and despair, anguish and hope to discover the power of love. Both the novel and movie versions’ ground breaking depiction of female black life during the 1930s caused a sensation on release. This 2005 interpretation makes its European premier and features a score of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, written by Grammy award winners Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, the composer famous for his work with Madonna. menierchocolatefactory.com

W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

T H E C R I PPL E O F I N I S H M AA N Noel Coward Theatre 8 June - 31 August Continuing his incredibly successful season with productions of Privates on Parade and Peter and Alice, director Michael Grandage stages a revival of a rarely produced play by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. Set in 1934, this coming of age comedy takes place on the remote island of Inishmaan, off the west coast of Ireland. When word arrives that a Hollywood documentary film is being made on the neighbouring island of Inishmore, the one person who wants to escape from the bitter tedium of his daily life and secure a role in the movie is young Cripple Billy. This new production, designed by Christopher Oram, is guaranteed to be another success as the lead role is being played by Daniel Radcliffe, who returns to the West End stage after his 2011 triumph in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. delfontmackintosh.co.uk 93 B E I G E

DESIRED BY ANDREA WEBSTER The Lustre Square Lights by Tom Dixon have an iridescent sheen created by a glaze containing minerals and precious metals. The result is a striking colour change effect reminiscent of peacock feathers. The handmade process means that each one has a unique and unrepeatable finish. £360

Jean Paul Gaultier’s collaboration with Roche Bobois resulted in this elaborate armoire on castors. Designed as a ‘box of tricks’ with internal mirrored articulated sections, drawers and rails, this is wardrobe, screen and mirror all at once. Printed with a seductive, Asian-inspired tattoo design, this romantic piece will appeal to those fascinated by fairgrounds as much as by fashion.

www.tomdixon.net

£11,500

www.roche-bobois.com

American Tin Tiles are hot right now, but salvaged vintage ones are so hard to come by. Get the tin tile effect with this beautifully printed wallpaper from Abigail Ahern. American Tin Tile wallpaper in ivory and black. £219

The Porcupine Mirror by Graham & Green is a spiky take on a Mid-Century style sunburst mirror. A statement wall piece, perfect hung over a vintage sideboard.

www.abigailahern.com

£299

Exotic florals, citrus, kiwi fruit and fresh moss make DL & Company’s Blue Hyacinth candle the perfect summer home fragrance. It also comes in a stunning cobalt blue, etched glass votive Tooth & Claw’s Chinoiserie Neon Flora collection was inspired by the decadence of 1920’s Shanghai, stormy skies and neon flashes. A bold modern take on traditional Chinoiserie, picking up on the trend for neon colours. Digitally printed cushion in Pink/Silver Cloud £75

£94

www.grahamandgreen.co.uk

Mazes and secret gardens were the inspiration behind the Labyrinth Chair by Studio Job for Moooi. Bold and graphic, the Emerald green gives an incredible pop of colour.

www.wildandfunk.com

£688

www.toothandclawonline.com

The Suzy Wong High Back Sofa by Kenneth Cobonpue takes you back to a time of glamour and sophistication. Reminiscent of Oriental period styles, this beautiful sofa fuses traditional materials such as rattan with modern design principles.

Porta Romana’s Honeycomb Table in decayed gold with dark fumed-oak top, is the perfect modern side table that picks up on the graphic trend.

£3,750 www.muse-ing.com

£2,136

www.portaromana.co.uk

www.moooi.com

48HRS In SAN FRANCISCO

Stranded in the USA, California native Jean Paul Zapata made a quick escape to ‘The City’ for some sun-kissing, shoe shopping and his favourite Chinese food.

W I T H J E A N PA U L Z APA T A Packing for The City (don’t call it San Fran or Frisco), my first order of business was rifling through my closet and arming myself with some San Francisco swag.

Considered by some as the birthplace of the gay rights movement in America, San Francisco holds a special place in I my heart. Here experienced my first Gay Pride, and all the debauchery that comes with it.

San Francisco is voted one of the most walkable cities in the US, with an eclectic mix of neighbourhoods to peruse. To me this building calls to mind Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, sans the suit of armour.

I love the views from London’s bridges, but a bicycle ride across the Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny day is . beyond compare ? at wh ty Ci g Fo

W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

Speaking of cannabis, the plant is only legal to smoke in Washington and Colorado, but San Francisco l pushes the lega l ica ed m of its lim if a an mariju only to keep its citizens “happy, healthy and horny.”

Once I landed, my priorities switched to picking up some new swag. Gag on this colour blocking! Shoes are Nike Zoom by Stefan Janoski.

Hiking on Mount Sutro, a forested hill in the middle of the city, feels like walking into Narnia. Minutes from a main road I found myself surrounded by 200-foot eucalyptus trees and wanting never to return . to the real world

You know me, give me an athletic Italian, an old-school Mercedes, and a body bag and I’m on board.

San Francisco is a dogwalking city, with canines as ubiquitous as wafts of cannabis smoke. Pretty much every day is a great day to walk the pooch!

Like many thriving metropolises, San Francisco’s street art scene is visually arresting, ranging from standard gang graffiti to psychedelic art installations.

This city has (in my humble opinion) some of the best-tasting Chinese food in the world. Rumour has it the fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco.

Only San Francisco would have a yoga room in an international airport. That’s why I love this city!

210 105 97 B E I G E

beige rage BY alEX HOPKINS

As speeches go it was pathetic. MP Sir Gerald Howarth’s objection to the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill in The House of Commons debate this May was founded on the prehistoric notion that if you give those gays any more rights there’ll be no stopping them. ‘The aggressive homosexual community’ must know their limits, fumed the bigoted Tory. The next day a Facebook page was set up entitled ‘The Aggressive Homosexual Community,” poking fun at the endless, imagined ways that gay people attack and unduly influence all those terrified, vulnerable heterosexuals out there. All very amusing, but the real irony here is that LGBT people’s revolutionary fervour is at an all time low. The equal marriage debate has reignited some of our fire, but the younger gay generation remains woefully politically apathetic, while others are simply too busy Feng Shuiing their Clapham penthouses, resting on the hard won gains of activists of yesteryear, to even consider anyone who wears anything less than Dolce and Gabbana. Gay rights? Who cares unless we’re told we’re not allowed to party? It’s time we talked about the elephant in the room: ‘aggressive’ homosexuals? Quite possibly. Selfish homosexuals? Most definitely. In this depoliticised age, just where is our anger directed? Arguably, less on our enemies in the establishment or oppressive international regimes and more on each other. Indeed, I can think of few other subcultures with members who judge themselves and their peers so mercilessly.

At the centre of the problem is a gay ‘culture’ dominated by a commercial scene where body fascism is our chief barometer of self worth, porn stars our most conspicuous role models and sex little more than a brutal, competitive sport, in which intimacy is whittled down to a wink on a smartphone. This is all played out in sprawling, faceless gay metropolises, which are entirely unwelcoming to anyone who doesn’t subscribe to tedious selfloathing ‘straight acting’ stereotypes. Our public spaces, once melting pots of class, age and gender, unified by a common struggle, now exclude those that the aspirational ‘A-gays’ have deemed ‘freaks’. Levels of Campphobia and Transphobia among gay men have never been higher. And yet how ridiculous all this must appear to those looking in - to the outsiders that we once were - for the lifestyle we’re being sold, and so often unquestioningly accept, is nothing if not one of extremes. Week days, we’ll be found strutting about the gym, with faces like peacocks on a caffeine comedown, pumping our bodies full of protein shakes, before guzzling drain cleaning fluid in the small hours at the weekend, as we step dispassionately over a drug casualty crumpled on the the floor under some rancid railway arch. Sure, we’ve really got the balance right.

The endemic levels of drug abuse, unsafe sex, the rise in HIV rates and the crushing loneliness on London’s gay scene state otherwise. How many more GHB overdoses do we need to hear about? Will it take a strain of HIV that is resistant to drugs before we stop playing sexual Russian roulette? The right honourable Sir Gerald can sleep well in his unsoiled sheets - we’re far too busy hurting ourselves to attack others. And yet the sad reality is that in his diatribe Howarth credited us with something that we no longer have - a ‘community.’ Yes, the word’s bandied about a lot as a lazy collective noun to simplify things, but it accords us a status that we’ve lost.

W fiLM cLub W London’s Luxury screening rooM on the square introduces a neW Way to Watch the hottest fiLMs of the MoMent, every fortnight.

To be a ‘community’ would suggest that we share common values. It would indicate a modicum of organisation and an effective forum to discuss the urgent health issues that are decimating lives. It’s associated with mutual support and care and basic humanity for the invisible, older gay people or trans people and those suffering abroad. It means what we now lack - solidarity. Gerald Howarth was speaking of what we once were - daring, fierce and, above all, working together. These were the gay liberationists who laid the ground to make equal marriage a possibility, those we so quickly forget. Our job now is to make sure that this isn’t just a memory. But first we need to take a tough look at the way we’re treating ourselves and one another. After all, what point is there in having the pecs of a warrior if you’re falling apart on the inside?

21st May 2013

ProMised Land

coming soon W’s blockbuster tips;

4th June 2013

this is the end

Mud

Directed by Seth Rogen. While A salesman for a natural Two teenage boys encounter attending a party at James Franco’s gas company experiences a fugitive and form a pact to house, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and life-changing events after help him evade the bounty many other celebrities are faced arriving in a small town, where hunters on his trail and to with the apocalypse. Total comedy his corporation wants to tap reunite him with his true love. genius! into the available resources. Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland A journey from farm boy to big-time player takes an onLy god forgives 18th June 2013 unexpected detour where Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding the iceMan he grapples with a surprising re-team (Drive) for an emotionally The true story of Richard array of both open hearts and breathtaking, aesthetically brilliant Kuklinski, the notorious contract and immensely violent thriller set closed doors. killer and family man. When amongst in Bangkok. Stars: Matt Damon, finally arrested in 1986, neither Frances McDormand, John Krasinski his wife nor daughters have any clue about his real profession. Stars: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans

tickets Seat Seat & Sip W GueStS

£15 includes popcorn £20 includes popcorn and a drink from W Lounge Bar* Call Whatever/Whenever for more information

Film starts at 8pm, screen will be open from 7.30. unreserved seating. W W W. B E I G E U K . C O M

For full information and bookings head to WWW.WLondon.co.uk/fiLM-cLub W London, Leicester square, 10 Wardour street, London W1d 6qf, united kingdoM teL: 0207 758 1000 *1 beer, wine or soft drink

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